When Love and Hate Collide
by DragonGamer0713
Summary: Two women find each other in a sticky situation with zombies. When they come across a Motel 6 their odds will either increase or decrease. NickXOC EllisXOC
1. Chapter 1

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

Chapter 1: Meet the Survivors!

I shot a nearby zombie in the face with my AK-47 that I stole from the last safe house I encountered. "Take that, bitch!" My partner quickly shot a zombie that was about to slash me from behind. "Sweet shot, Sheila!" I commented her. She smiled as she blew on the barrel of her sniper rifle. "Thanks, Chris. I'm a dead eye shot. Plus, you weren't paying a lick of attention behind you." I playfully hit her with the butt of my AK. "Come on, there's a Motel 6 up ahead. Maybe we'll find a few survivors…and zombies." Sheila reloaded her sniper and said, "Let's go kick some zombie ass!"

I stealthily weaved my way through the traffic of non-moving cars and saw a huge horde surrounding one area at the Motel 6. Thinking fast, I quickly pulled out my pipe bomb and tossed it away from the mob. The flashing, beeping explosive was candy to a zombie. The whole horde went running after it, leaving two badly beaten, barely-alive men. I quickly ran to them and barked, "Run!" Without thinking twice, they took cover into an abandoned room. The bomb exploded, sending zombies and body parts flying. Blood rained on me, as well as guts and goo. "Gross! Living or not, that's disgusting!" One of the men quickly screamed, "Behind you!" I just smiled as the zombie behind me had it's head blown off by Sheila. I turned around and signaled Sheila to approach. The signal was peace sign, plus fist, and an "x" made with both hands. She ran up to me and said, "You're so lucky I didn't miss that zombie." I chuckled and said, "You're so lucky that I found you that sniper! And that machete! Don't come bitching to me, Sheila." She opened her mouth to snap, but I quickly uttered, "Thank you!"

We walked into the room where the boys were. They were repairing their wounds. Without saying "Hi!" or "Are you guys ok?" I said, "Redneck and a con artist." Sheila hit me, "Don't be a rude bitch. Are you guys ok?" The redneck looked up and replied in a very fluent Southern accent, "Yeah. We are now. But our other friends have met the end of this apocalypse." I looked back into the court yard and scanned the carnage for other bodies. I found them; two black humans. One male, another female. I remembered that I picked up a defibrillator earlier and still had it. I grinned to Sheila, "Cover me. I'm going in." She nodded as she aimed her sniper outside the window. I darted outside and slid into the dirt next to the black male like a baseball player sliding into home plate. I quickly rubbed up the defib unit and pressed the chest paddles into his chest. The electricity was able to zap him back to life. He gasped as he sat up off the bloody ground. He looked up at me and asked, "Who the hell are you?!" I retorted, "I'm God! Meet up with your friends in there!" I pointed to the room where the two guys and Sheila took shelter. I noticed he had a defib unit on him. Since I can't use the same unit on two people, I snatched his away and rolled towards the other body. I charged the defib unit and before I was able to shock her back to life, a huge long tongue came out of nowhere and tied me up. I yelped in surprise. I was being dragged upwards, but I wasn't going to give up so easily. I planted my feet into the dirt, leaned back and sank my teeth into the fleshy, tongue rope. The creature, which was a Smoker, screeched in pain as I sank my teeth deeper and deeper into its tongue. Sheila leaped out of the room and used her machete to slice the tongue off me. I barked, "Kill the Smoker!" She nodded as she sniped it in the heart. It exploded into a cloud of green smoke. I was able to continue my work and the unit jolted her heart back to life. She gasped as she looked up. I quickly said, "Friendlies. Friendlies." I offered my hand to her and she took it. I helped hoisted her up to her feet and we all sprinted into the room.

I spit outside the window and scraped my tongue with my nails. "Word of advice: Never bite a Smoker's tongue! That was disgusting!" The guy in the white suit and blue shirt snapped, "None of us are that stupid to do that!" I looked up at him and snarled, "You do know I could have left you for dead, con man!" The redneck asked, "Would you have left me for dead?" I turned to him and asked, "Have you pissed me off?" He shook his head. I grinned, "Then you're good." He smiled. The black man placed a strong hand on my shoulder and said, "Thanks for saving us. You've got guts." The black woman added, "You must have some kind of balls to rescue both of us and resist a Smoker." I grinned as I retorted to the con man, "I've got more than others." He glared at me, which only fueled my satisfied grin. The redneck got up and asked, "What's your name? And what's you name?" Before Sheila could answer, I quickly said, "We'll handle intros in a safe house. I heard a horde coming in." Everyone nodded and suited up for a fight. I reloaded my AK and tightened the bandana around my head. "Time to blow up the undead."

All six of us were able to escape the bloody motel and slip down the hill. The con man snapped as he slid down, "Whoa! Shit!" I scoffed as I slid all the way down and rolled forward to avoid landing pain. Then I heard him snarl, "Show offy bitch." I was flipped him off and unloaded my AK's magazine on every zombie that looked in my direction. Sheila followed me and quipped, "Kill stealer." The four strangers tailed us as we ran through the water and up onto high ground.

The black guy said excitedly, "Whispering Oaks!" I looked forward and said, "Oh yeah. The amusement park." Sheila quickly shouted, "I see a safe house!" The redneck replied, "Great! We can finally find out who you guys are! And you'll know who we are!" I retorted, "Is that a good idea?" I turned my head towards the con artist and retorted to me, "Do you go by 'bitch' or 'show offy bitch'?" The black man slapped him upside the head and hissed, "Move your ass, Nick!"

We rushed towards the safe house while blasting zombies left and right. I snarled at the swarming horde, "Back you flesh-eating dumbshits!" Every one was able to get into the safe house, while I took my time shooting zombies. The con man, whose name was Nick snarled at me, "You don't want me coming out there after you!" I snarled behind me, "Tough talk! Prove it, numb nuts!" He growled as he stormed out of the safe house, grabs the back of my collar and dragged me into the safe house. Sheila closed the door and quipped to Nick, "I'm starting to like you."

I snarled at Nick, "Let go of me if you want your manhood intact!" Nick heeded my warning and let me go. The redneck said, "I've never seen a girl so violent and willing to kill our boys. You quite the keeper!" I turned to him and quipped back, "I was very popular in high school. No one fought with me or they would be in the nurse's office all day." The black man said, "You're one badass bitch. So is your friend. I'm Coach." The black woman said, "My name is Rochelle. Anyone that saves our hides is fine in my book." The redneck slapped my back and said excitedly, "My name is Ellis! You can call me El if you want, but it sounds like a girl's name." Sheila said, "Ellis? That's a very unique name. My name is Sheila." Ellis beamed at the comment. "That's a beautiful name you have, Sheila!" She blushed, "Thanks, Ellis." I muttered under my breath, "I see sparks." She hit my arm and hissed, "Shut up." I only laughed.

"I'm Chris", I finally said. "And I know that you're Nick." He scoffed, "Yeah that's my name." I grinned, "Now that you can't call me 'bitch' or 'show offy bitch'." He snarled, "You're already a pain in the ass! Don't get smart with me!" I only grinned at the fuming con artist. "If you don't cross me, I won't cross you. Besides, you should show me some gratitude. I saved your money-stealing life." He scoffed, "I had things under control." Ellis snapped at him, "Are you kidding?! We would have died if Chris and Sheila didn't show up! Thanks, gals! We _both_ own you one!" Sheila playfully shoved the brim of his cap down on his face and quipped, "How about a spot on your team? We can protect each other until we're out of this hellhole. I mean the zombies, not the South itself." Ellis laughed as he pushed his cap out of his eyes, "Done like dinner! Welcome to the pack, Chris and Sheila!" Nick groaned in frustration. Coach hit him again. "Be nice, Nick. She did save us", Rochelle snapped at him. I, being the bitch I can be, I added, "Yeah, Nicky. Be nice to me." I gave him my best puppy-dog innocent look. He tensed up and growled, "Don't call me 'Nicky'." I nodded and snickered at him, "No prob…Nicko". He sighed and muttered under his breath, "This is going to be a very long apocalypse." Ellis laughed and asked, "Isn't Nicko the name of the Sweetheart candies around Valentines Day?" Rochelle chuckled at his connection, "No, Ellis. Those are Neccos." Sheila replied, "I love those little hearts. They're so good!" Ellis smiled at her and said, "Me too! The best treat for Valentines Day! Hey!" He pointed at Nick as if he discovered something, "You're Christ's Sweetheart!" Sheila, Coach, and Rochelle burst out laughing. Nick and I looked at each other with disgust. "No way in Hell!" he barked at the redneck. "Hell wouldn't even describe that thought!" I added. Sheila laughed and said to me, "I see sparks!" I placed my hands onto my face and said softly, "Karma's a bitch!" Nick added as he rolled his eyes at Sheila's comment, "Tell me about it."

Coach decided to change the subject. "Relax everyone. We had a long day and there'll be a long day tomorrow." Ellis nodded, replying, "More zombie killin' in the mornin'! I love the smell of zombie before breakfast!" Sheila pulled out her machete and a cloth covered in dry blood. She began cleaning her blade with the cloth. Ellis watched as she cleaned her mighty melee weapon.

I walked over to a shady corner and began listening to my iPod. It always calmed me down when I feel tense about something. I bobbed my head to the song "See Who I Am" by Within Temptation. I loved that song. I grinned as my tense feeling towards Nick faded away. Since I was in a shady area, I decide to fix my fire print bandana on my head. I untied it, revealing my Hunter scar that I gained on the first day I interacted with the infection. It's a double claw slash, one claw mark is longer than the other. That why I wear the bandana over my forehead: to conceal the scar. I don't want to answer questions from others about it. I soothed my bangs out and retied my bandana on again.

_That Hunter. _I snarled in my head. That Hunter attacked me, but didn't kill me. Instead, he just stared at me with his soulless eyes and scratched my forehead. When I screamed in pain, he pounded away, leaving me alone in Savannah. From that moment on, I vowed that I'll find that Hunter and kill him with my bare hands. Around my neck was a necklace of teeth. They were Hunter teeth. Every Hunter I kill, I pull a tooth out and add it to my collection. Sheila never argued why I hated Hunters so much. Smart girl. I'm a Hunter hunter.

Coach saw me in the corner and beckoned me out of the shadows. "Come and join us, Chris. Don't be a stranger." I looked up at the man. At least he and Ellis were friendly. Nick on the other hand was a dick. Ro was sweet and being a badass for putting up with Nick longer than me. I've only known the guy for an hour or two and I already can't stand him. He can't stand me either.

Ro walked into the safe house kitchen area, looking for water and food. She pulled out three water bottles. I grinned evilly and shouted to Nick. "Nick!" He looked up uninterested and lazily and asked, "What?" "I bet you five bucks that we have to share a water bottle." He scoffed at me and replied, "I'll take that bet." We looked up at Ro, who said, "Alright guys. There are only three waters here, so we're going to have to share them." Coach said, "I'll share with you, Ro." She nodded as she tossed one of the water bottles to Coach. Nick quickly turned to Ellis and spoke across the room, "Hey, Ellis! I'll share with you and we'll let the girls share their own water." Ellis chuckled, "You scared of cooties, Nick?" Nick snapped, "No!" Ellis replied, "Then you wouldn't have a problem sharing with Chris. I'm sharing with Sheila." Sheila asked Nick, "She placed a bet on it, didn't she?" The con man nodded. "Damn. You're screwed, Nick."

Ro tossed Ellis a bottle and said, "You and Sheila share." Then she turned to Nick and me, even though I'm still in my little corner. "You two will share the last." I shouted, "Yes! Pay up, Nick!" I held my hand out to him. He growled, "Fuck!" as he searched his pockets for cash. He pulled out a five dollar bill and slapped it into my hand. I chuckled evilly, "Sucker." Nick snarled after he opened the water bottle, "Bitch!" I shrugged casually and replied, "Don't hate the player, Nicky. Hate the game." He flipped me off as he took a long drink of water.

Coach witnessed our little bet and asked, "You gamble, Chris?" I slipped the five into my pocket and answered, "Once in a while. I had a major problem a few years ago when I gambled on everything. Horse races, car races, dog races, and even at card games like poker." Ro slyly turned to Nick, who still had water in his mouth, "She's your type, Nick. She's a con artist too." Nick spit out his water and coughed viciously. The water hit me and I snarled, "Hey Spitter! I know I need a shower, but don't spit on me! I killed two of them this morning!" Sheila corrected, "Actually, you killed one and I sniped the other one." I wiped the water off my face and grumbled, "Thanks for correcting me."

Nick ended his coughing fit with a question, "You're a con artist?!" I rubbed my nails against my shirt with pride, "Yeah." Then he snapped, "Then why were you so quick to judge me about it?!" I stood up and spat out the door to remove any water that was in Nick's mouth and any taste of the Smoker's tongue that still lingered on my taste buds. I answered his question, "You have the look. I don't. I'm an innocent face, giving me the surprise." He scoffed, "Innocent my ass!"

Ellis had to say while snickering, "Your arguin' is funny as hell to watch!" I gave him a thumbs up without looking at the redneck, stating, "Thanks, Ellis. Making people laugh is very rewarding." In my head, I added, "So is winning money against an asshole." Nick hissed, "Shut up, Ellis!" Sheila hit Nick in Ellis's defense. "Ow! Why did you hit me?!" he barked. "That's for snapping at Ellis. You have an attitude problem!" "So does your friend Chris!" She hit him again. "Don't play stupid! We know you like her!" Nick was too quick to defend himself, "No I don't!" However, his face began to grow red. Coach quickly said, "Alright everyone! Lights out! We need our sleep!" Almost on queue, all of us yawned, reminding us of our exhaustion. I fell back into my shadowy corner and curled up. Nick scoffed at me. "Are you unaware that a couch is much softer than floor boards?" I ignored him by turning the volume on my iPod up. Sheila got up and gently patted my shoulder as if to say "Night, Chris! See ya tomorrow!" I nodded as I relaxed. Ellis spoke out loud, "Night, y'all! Sweet dreams!" Despite my music being very loud, I heard him. _Sweet dreams? I wish I could have them._


	2. Chapter 2

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

Chapter 2: A Fun Day at the Carnival!

Ever since that Hunter attacked me and spared me, I've had horrible nightmares that plague me every night when I sleep. I do my best to stay calm and tell myself, "It's just a dream", but I still wake up drenched with sweat and panting as if I ran the Boston Marathon. Tonight was no expectation:

~ _I clench my AK in my shaky hands as I heard a Hunter screech. My eyes narrowed in rage as I spiraled around trying to find the thing. My forehead inflamed in pain as I hear the Hunter coming closer. I saw it leap from one roof to the next. I unloaded my whole AK magazine at the swift zombie. I swore as I reloaded, hoping that it wasn't going to attack or worse, run away. Then I heard someone's voice behind me. "Don't worry, Chris. I'll cover you." I looked behind me and gasped. It was Nick. My rage caused me to snap at him, "Get out of there! This Hunter is mine!" He snarled back, "I'm not leaving you behind! Don't be stupid!" The Hunter pounded at Nick's gun, causing him to drop it, leaving him defenseless. I aimed my AK for the Hunter, but he stood up and grinned under his hood. I wonder why. Suddenly, my scar glowed in an eerie yellow color, coursing pain through my veins. I screamed and dropped my AK, holding my head in agony. My hands began to feel sharpened, like claws. My bandana faded away and a hood covered my head. My screaming snapped into a screeching noise. I looked at my hands and gasped. I'm a Hunter! The male Hunter chuckled as the transformation was complete. Then he screeched at me and pointed at Nick, who is officially horrified as he witnessed the transformation. My hunter instinct kicked in as I crouched on the ground, ready to pounce on the survivor. With a snarl, I jumped, claws reaching out, ready to tear Nick into ribbons. Something hit my right shoulder…~_

Nick touched my shoulder. "Wake up, Chris!" Since my dream self was in pounce mode, my reflexes caused me to spring and pin my "attacker" down. Nick yelped as I pinned him to the ground. My nails sank into the shoulders of his white jacket. It took me a good two seconds to realize that I'm awake…and completely oblivious that I pounced Nick and lying on top of him. "It was just a dream. Oh thank God!" Still unaware of my pounced victim, I buried my face below me. Instead of a hardwood floor, it was blue, soft, and muscular. If I didn't realize I was on Nick, the clearing of his throat in embarrassment gave it all away.

Sheila was the first to speak, "What happened to you?!" Ellis burst out laughing at us, "Nick! You got yourself a fiery one!" I replied with, "Oh shit!" as I rolled off Nick's body. Coach had a big grin on his face. "What happened last night that made you so…jumpy?" Ro spoke, "Well, I'm glad I didn't wake you up or I'd be the one on the floor." I spoke while panting and wiping sweat away from my brow, "It was a nightmare." Nick spoke in an angry tone, "Nightmares don't make people pounce other people!" Sheila defended, "Chris was plagued with nightmares ever since she got attack by the infected. However, I don't remember any of the others being so violent. You normally pant and sweat. This one made you pounce Nick like a Hunter." I whispered, "I was. I was a Hunter in my nightmare. Nick was there too. And I pounced him because _**he**_ commanded me too." Just the thought of that Hunter made my blood boil and fists tighten. Nick was confused, "Who told you to pounce me? And why was I in your nightmare?" I ignored his questions completely and said in a very serious tone, "We're burning moonlight. Let's move. If any of you see a Hunter, shout. All Hunters are mine!" I loaded my AK and stood up. I grabbed a nearby crowbar and strapped it to my hip. Everyone was hesitant over my pounce and serious attitude, but they just shrugged it off and gathered supplies. Nick was still a little jostled by my Hunter attack. Ellis helped him up off the ground while I stashed up on supplies. Sheila apologized, "Sorry Nick. She's normally calmer than this. I wonder what got into her." He just shrugged, "Maybe it's payback for me being a total jerk last night. Now, we're even."

Coach barked, "Is everyone ready!?" We readied our weapons and waited for Coach to open the door. He lifted the bar and opened the door. Zombies were just lumbering around…until Nick nailed one in the head. The rest of the zombies screamed as they ran towards us. I quickly swept my AK like a machine gun, hitting and killing any zombie that got in front of me. "Die, you zombie bitches! Die!" Then we heard a Jockey nearby. Ro screamed "Jockey!" right before it got her head. Ellis was quick to knock it off Ro's head and Sheila finished it off. "Just like high school", she quipped as she reloaded her sniper.

As we fought our way to Kiddie Land, we were attacked by a Tank. Ellis was the first to see it. "Oh shit! Tank! Tank!" All of us scattered and shot the Tank. It bellowed and went after Coach first. It swung its arm and Coach went flying into a trash can. "Coach!" Ro shouted. The Tank heard her and went charging at her next. "Run, Rochelle!" Ellis barked. She shot at the steroid-induced zombie while running backwards. Sheila quickly climbed up onto of a building and sniped from above. A horde began running towards Ellis as he shouted. I noticed I was on my last magazine for my AK. Nick kept firing at the Tank, hoping it would leave Ro alone. Something green and swishy caught my eye and it was on Nick's belt. Boomer bile! "Nick! Throw the bile onto the Tank!" He heard me, thankfully. He had to stop firing in order to unclick the puke tube. The tank was about to hit him when I ran and attacked it with the crowbar in the back. It shrieked in annoyance, not pain. It turned around and glared at me. Then I screamed at Nick, "Throw it!! Now!!" As soon as he did, the Tank's mighty arm made contact with my body, causing me to fly into a cotton candy tent. Nick screamed, "Chris!" As the Tank got mauled by his fellow zombies, Nick and Ro ran to the tent to check on me. Ellis helped Coach up and Sheila climbed down off the roof and ran to join Ellis and Coach. Thanks to Nick's Boomer bile, the Tank became mincemeat for the common infected.

Nick and Ro pulled away broken planks of wood that didn't do much to soften my landing. Ro shouted, "Chris! Speak, girl!" Nick added, "Come on bitch!" I heard Nick's comment and grumbled, "Dumbass con man…" Nick grinned at Ro. "Works every time", he boasted. Ro hit him on the arm and continued digging through the rubble. Ellis, Sheila and Coach joined them and covered them as they rescued their fallen comrade. Nick removed the tent fabric that was in his way and uncovered me. I could hardly move. Pain coursed through my body and I grumbled, "It looks so fucking easy in the movies."

Ro chuckled and replied, "Can you stand?" I struggled to move, but Nick knew I wasn't going to get out by myself. I clawed a broken plank and used it to lift myself up. I hissed in pain as my legs began to buckle under my own weight. I was about to fall, but Nick quickly grabbed my hand. "Come on! Stay light!" he snapped as he pulled me forward towards him. I barked, "I weigh less than 100 pounds! I can't get any lighter, even if I tried!" He rolled his eyes and pulled me out of the remains of the tent. I stood on my feet and they were still wobbly from the crash. Nick let go but caught me again before I fell to the ground. I growled, "Jesus! Where's a power boost when I need it!?" Nick ignored my complaint and asked, "Is anything broken?" I looked up at him and said, "I don't think so. I'm just shaky from my unexpected flight. Ummm…..You can let go now." Nick scanned both of us up and down and grew very bright red. "Right", he muttered as he let go. I kept my arms out to maintain my balance and my knees bent. "This is worse than the hangover I had during my 25th birthday", I muttered. Nick scoffed, being his original jackass self, "I had worse hangovers."

Sheila ran to me and embraced me. "Holy shit! Are you ok??" "I will once I get the feeling in my legs back", I replied. Ellis added, "Damn! I've never seen anyone fly so far before! If you had wings, you could just fly to New Orleans! Plus, Nick flipped out when he saw you flying!" I did remember Nick screaming my name when the Tank hit me. "I heard him, Ellis. That's not like him to be care for others." He knew I was trying to piss him off. Coach placed his hand on Nick's shoulder and asked, "You going soft on us, Nick?" He let out a huff, "Over my dead body I'm going soft! All six of us must stick together so our odds of survival are greater. Nothing more and nothing less." I growled at the con artist, "You're a piece of work! You know that!?" He just shrugged and said, "Get used to it, sweetheart. What you see is what you get." Sheila saw me twitching in anger. If she still didn't have a hold on me, I would have pounced at him again.

However, a screech in the air calmed me down. A Hunter was near. Time to go killing. I wiggled out of Sheila's arms, who quickly said, "Are you going to pound the living shit of out Nick?" I shook my head and replied, "We need him to increase our odds for survival. I've got a Hunter to butcher." Ellis saw Nick's jaw drop at my comment. "Oooohhhhh! Nick, you got burned, man!" Nick punched Ellis in his arm and growled, "Shut up, Ellis."

I grabbed my dropped AK and grabbed more ammo for it. I tightened my bandana and ran out of Kiddie land, hoping to find that Hunter. Rage fueled my veins, enabling my legs to move without wobbling like Jell-o. The rest of our band struggled to keep up with me. I found him near the safe house. I reloaded my AK clip and aimed for the mutated creature. It saw me and it leaped off the roof and pounced towards me. I quickly ducked and it leaped right over my head. It turned around and snarled at me. My necklace of teeth jingled as I swayed side to side, ready to kill it. It saw the teeth and pounced at me in fury. I shot it in the chest and it fell to the ground. Nick was the first to reach me. The Hunter weakly snarled, indicting to me that it was still alive. I pulled out an old Swiss Army knife and stabbed it in the head. Nick was suddenly terrified at my brutality. I flipped the creature onto it's back and pried it's jaws open. Using my knife, I wedged it between two of its teeth and wiggled the blade until one of the teeth was loose enough to be pulled out with my fingers. I pulled out the first tooth and examined it. It shined in the moonlight and blood dripped onto my fingers as I scanned my prize. I grinned evilly as I stood up. For extra gory measure, I crushed its skull with my sneaker. "Go to Hell, you little fucker."

I didn't realize Nick was watching me. He wanted to gasp or shout an insult, but all that came out of his vocals was a tiny failing squeal. I hardly heard it. I placed my trophy into my pocket and turned around and came face to face with the horrified Nick. He just stared at me with his wide green eyes. Not that I was staring at him. My Hunter rage faded, causing my vicious brutality to melt away. I walked up to Nick and waved my hand in front of his face. "Nick? Are you ok, buddy?" Then I thought to myself: did I just call him "buddy?" But didn't he call me "sweet heart?" I scratched my bandana-covered head and snapped my fingers, forcing him out of his trance. He blinked. I sighed with relief. The other survivors finally made it. Ellis panted as he placed his hands on his knees, "Is there a reason you took off like that, Nick and Chris?!" I simply answered, "I had a Hunter to kill. Nothing I couldn't handle." Coach snapped, "I understand you still have a lone wolf streak with Sheila, but you're now in a team. We must work as a team, fight as a team, and survive as a team. Got that, Chris?!" I nodded, realizing that I did just run off without concerning about the team as a whole. "Ok. I'll remember that next time. Sorry, guys." Ro walked over to me and place her hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, Chris. You learn from your mistakes." I nodded. Sheila asked Nick, who was still recovering from his trance, "Why did you run ahead. I knew Chris's reason, but why did you run after her?" Nick still could hardly talk. Instead he grew a light shade of red. Why did he go after me? He just shrugged at Sheila. Ellis leaped back when he saw the Hunter carcass. "Holy shit!" he shouted, "That's brutal! Its head is crushed to bits." I scraped my sneaker along the dirt, quipping, "And some of its brains are on my shoe." Nick only glared at me.

We heard crying, causing all of us to freeze in place. This wasn't hard for Nick to do. Sheila grinned and scouted ahead. "Kill your lights", she commanded to everyone. We obeyed and Ellis followed her with curiosity and a sense of security. I knew Ellis liked Sheila. I know puppy love when I see it. Ellis waved for us to follow them and he quickly came up beside Sheila. A very pale girl was sitting on the ground, sobbing. Ellis smiled as he tapped his shotgun's trigger. We stared at the crying girl. I heard Nick whisper, "Sounds like my ex-wife." Sheila began to stand up, but Ellis quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her down again. "Hey!" she hissed softly at him. Ellis was inches away from her face as he spoke, "Do you know what she is? That's a witch and she'll tear you to fucking shreds if you disturb her." We watched to see Sheila's reaction. To our surprise, she smiled at Ellis, "I'm going to crown that bitch. If I miss, you'll back me up." He blushed and gave her a goofy chuckle, "Hell, I would. But I suggest you use my shotgun. It's much more powerful in close combat." As he spoke, he swapped his shotgun for her hunting rifle. She gripped it tight and smiled at Ellis, "Thanks, Ellis. Time to blast this bitch." As she and Ellis slowly stood up in unison, I whispered to the rest of our group, "Be ready to fire if things go wrong." Ro, Nick and Coach reloaded their weapons because once someone startles a witch, she's a bitch to kill!

Sheila quietly loaded the shottie and aim directly at the witch's head. Ellis was holding his breath as he aimed the rifle at her just in case she sprang into action mode. Sheila pulled the trigger, the ringing of the shot gun made everyone jump. The witch fell to the side. Ellis shouted in victory, but Sheila unloaded another cap into her head, because she still saw the witch's eyes moving. Ellis swapped guns again and asked, "Why did you shoot her the second time?" I answered Ellis's question, "It's a tactic called Double Tap. One shot may not be enough to kill a zombie. You double tap to double check." He nodded, understanding my statement. Ellis walked to Nick and said, "You learn something new everyday, Nick." Nick still hasn't found his voice yet, so he just cocked an eyebrow at the redneck. Ellis just grinned as if Nick was just giving him the silent treatment. Coach asked Nick, "What's wrong with you? You haven't spoken a word since we caught up with you two. Did she say something to you that made you shut up?" Ellis quipped, "Maybe he learned that Chris has a lover!" I wasn't even ten feet away from the rest when I heard Ellis's comment. I cocked my AK and aimed at Ellis, hissing, "I heard that, Ellis! I've got a full magazine and an itchy trigger finger right now, bud!" He turned to face me and immediately cowered. "Don't shoot! I was only kiddin'!" Nick actually grinned, which was a sign to me saying "You made him feel a little better." I lowered my gun and Ellis stopped cowering. "Don't piss off a girl with a gun, Ellis. Or else you might get shot." He nodded horrified, giving Nick a toothy smile this time instead of a small grin.

Sheila shouted, "Safe house ahead!" My head went back into zombie-killing mode again and I shouted to everyone, "Alright! Let's move!" All together, we ran into the incoming horde. We began sprinting for the safe room, which was the Tunnel of Love. My killer attitude instantly drooped and I moaned, "The Tunnel of Love?! Jesus Christ." What I didn't know it that Nick said the same thing in union with me. I stopped and just in time to be Jockey bait. It jumped onto my shoulders and began steering me into an acid pit set by a Spitter. Thinking fast, I went limp and fell onto the ground, crushing the air out of the Jockey. I jumped up and shot it dead, dead. Ro and I were still fighting through the horde, while making our way to the door. I quickly grabbed a pipe bomb and tossed it away from us. The explosive drew the zombie's attention from us, giving us a chance to run. We ran inside and Coach closed the door, disabling any zombies from entering the safe house. I said with a grin on my face, "Anyone want zombie soup?" Everyone thought about it and gained faces with disgust. I chuckled as soon as we heard the pipe bomb explode.

Ro sat down and said, "This is the most relaxing safe room I've ever been in." I had to say, "Relaxing for some, but not for all." The thought of romance and happiness seemed very ironic at this time. Nick remained silent, but he was closely observing me as if I was an animal ready to attack anyone. I did my best to ignore him, but his acid green eyes bore through me. The intensity made me feel very uneasy until I snapped, "Stop staring at me, Nick!" He blinked without saying a word to me. I groaned as I sat away from him and pulled out the Hunter tooth. As soon as Nick saw it, it set him off. He pounced me to the ground, snarling, "What the fuck was that display for, uh?! Is it a very sick hobby you developed!? Tell me!!" I really felt much violated, so I kneed him in the nuts. He groaned in pain, but didn't move from his position, still keeping me pinned. Nick's sudden attack alerted everyone. Sheila tried to pry Nick off me, but he's stronger than he looks. She barked, "Coach! Ellis! Help me out boys!" They ran to Nick and pulled him away, thanks to their combined strength. Nick struggled as I sat up, wheezing for a breath. Ro and Sheila sat on both sides of me, showing their concern. "Tell me, Chris! Why?!" Nick continued to snarl. I calmly replied as I stood up and walked to the enraged con man, "I'll tell you when you calm down." He glared at me and his heavy breathing began to slow down and become softer. He let out a deep breath out of his mouth, calming him down from his outburst.

Coach and Ellis let him go and he fell back to the floor again, because he's now feeling the pain in his crotch when I kneed him in self-defense. He held his boys and hissed in pain. I sat down in front of him and explained, "I have an uncontrollable rage towards Hunters, so for revenge, I kill them and claim a tooth as my prize." He looked up at me and asked, "Why?" I sighed and replied, "I can't tell you. At least not yet. I need to trust you more before I can spill my guts." Sheila retorted, "Nice figure of speech, Chris." Nick sighed in disappointment. He knew what I meant about trust. He and I play the same game: never trust anyone and look out for #1. However, Sheila is my expectation. He nodded at me and he stood up. More like hobbled up. He was just as shaky as I was when I was hit by the Tank. I swear to God that there's cotton candy in my shoes.

I focused on the tooth in my fist. I pulled my necklace off my neck, revealing it to everyone. Nick was shocked, "How many Hunters did you slaughter?!" I looked up at him for a second and looked back down at my Hunter collection. "20 at least." He whistled at the number. "That's a lot of teeth." I nodded as I pulled out my Swiss Army knife again. Using the corkscrew end, I twisted a hole through the roots of the tooth. Then I untied my necklace and slipped it down to the others. I get it a slight jolt, making the teeth to clatter together. I grinned as I tied it back up and lassoed back over my head.

Sheila sat next to me and whispered so no one else can hear her, "Why are you being so difficult to Nick? He asked you a question. Why didn't you tell him about the Hunter?" I sighed, "I don't trust him. He's nice one minute, but then he's sour the next. Like he's two people at once. He's hot, then cold." Sheila grinned as she sang, "You're hot, then you're cold. You're yes, then you're no. You're in, then you're out. You're up, then you're down." I grinned as I hit her shoulder. She did have a good sense of humor. At least I ignored the topic of Nick. Good. The last thing I need is drama between me and a fellow con artist.

A water bottle came flying at me. I looked up and my reflexes caught it. Ellis was one who threw it. "Good catch!" he commented. I nodded to acknowledge him. I unscrewed the bottle cap and took a long drink. The water hit the spot. My mouth was dry all day because Nick didn't give me any water, unless it came out of his mouth. That was unexpected and disgusting. I pulled the water bottle down and sighed. Coach asked, "Is everyone ready to go?" I looked up and cracked my neck. Nick groaned, "Now?" The ex-football player nodded, "Yeah, we need to get going. Unless you want to stay in the Tunnel of Love, Nick." Nick thought for a half a second, replying, "Let's go." Coach grinned. He now knows how to motivate Nick: his weakness towards love.

We grabbed supplies and ammo, getting ready for another zombie run. Nick looked at the entrance into the Tunnel of Love and said at Ellis, "You finally got your wish, Ellis. We're in an amusement park ride." Ellis said at him, "This ain't that kind of ride, Nick." He chuckled at his next statement, "This is where you make out with your girlfriend." For some ungodly reason, Nick and I instantly turned red. Ellis snickered at Nick, because I wasn't facing Ellis at the time. I quickly barked, "Alright! Sooner we start blasting zombies, the sooner we can get out of here!" Sheila chuckled as she teased, "Can't stand the Tunnel of Llloooooovvvvvvveeeee?" I growled as I removed the bar securing the safe room door. "It's too nice for my taste" I finally answered her question. Ro replied, "Oh come on. Nothing's too nice during a zombie apocalypse." I scoffed, "This 'ride' is too nice! Get me out of this place!" I opened the door and nail my first zombie with a crowbar. The others just shook their heads as they followed me out.

I couldn't stop moving. I really wanted to get out of here. Out of the Tunnel of Love. When the group stopped, I groaned and walked circles around them. Ellis was taking his god damn time for some reason. I growled at the redneck, "Let's pick up the pace, Ellis!" He grinned slyly, "Hold up, I gotta heal." I snarled, "You healed yourself five minutes ago!" He retorted, "We fought a witch five minutes ago. Will you chill? Damn, you're on a sugar high or something?" I scoffed, "Yeah, it's from all that cotton candy I ate while Nick and Ro discovered me!" He shrugged and said, "Alright. I'm ready to go." I sighed, "Finally! Let's go." As we advanced through the Tunnel, Nick stayed as far away from me as possible. It wasn't a surprise. If I got near him in this ride, Sheila and Ellis will constantly tease us, then we would have a massive argument. Sheila and Ellis however, were like right next to each other. I grinned. If she was going to tease me about Nick, I'll tease her about Ellis. An eye for an eye.

A Tank was blocking our way out. At this point, I was ready to go ape shit on the thing as long as I got out of the Tunnel of Love. The romance and niceness is killing my toughness. Coach saw how jumpy I was, so he said, "We'll distract the Tank, while you get some fresh air. It looks like you'll pass out if you don't." I nodded rapidly, "Good idea, Coach." They attacked the Tank while I whacked my way through the zombies and ran outside. I shouted, "Yes!!! Finally!! Air!! Zombie-infested air!!! I needed this!!" After my little victory shout was done, it attracted the Tank. "Oh shit", I said to myself. It ran at me, but I was able to unload my whole AK magazine into its head. Thankfully, it was enough to kill it. I sighed and shot a Hunter behind me. It was such a blind shot; it didn't even see it coming. It collapsed dead. I turned around and said, "Holy shit. What luck." I harvested its tooth and watched the others file out of the Tunnel of Blood. I reloaded my gun and asked, "Is everyone ok?" Sheila replied, "We're fine. What about you?" I inhaled the stale, bloody air. "I feel like a million bucks. Trust me, that's very good." The fact that I used money as my comparison made Nick roll his eyes and softly grin. Coach said, "Look! A roller coaster!" Ellis shouted in excitement, "The Screaming Oaks!!" I grinned, "I can easily handle a roller coaster. Let's go!"

We jumped the fence and blasted our way to the control box. Nick said, "Alright. Once I push this button, we all need to run along the tracks." Ellis shouted in happiness, "Oh my God, it's Christmas!" We laughed at his reaction to Nick's instructions. I hit Nick's shoulder and said, "Fire up this fire ball and run like hell!" He grinned as he pushed the button. The coaster whirred to life and the carts took off along the track. Once it was far enough, the gate opened for us. We all leaped onto the track and sprinted along. I ran next to Nick and shouted, "Five bucks says I'll save your life before you get off this coaster!" He scoffed, "You ain't winning this time! You're on!" I nodded and prayed for a Smoker to snare him.

Sheila and Ro lead the way, Nick and I were in the middle and Coach and Ellis brought up the rear. We saw a Charger ahead, so all six guns were firing at it. Once it was dead, we leaped over its corpse and fell down a steep slope. Several of us groaned or snarled at the sudden drop, but we still ran, knowing that zombies were right behind us. Ro was attacked by a Jockey as soon as we came across the tunnel. Sheila swiftly knocked the Jockey off her head and Nick killed it with his axe. I heard a Smoker nearby, so I grinned, thinking I was going to win the bet. Sadly, I failed to realize that I was closer to the Smoker than Nick. It saw me and unleashed its lengthy tongue at me. I yelped as it wrapped around my waist. I screamed, "Smoker's got me!" As soon as I said that, it dragged me off the tracks and I swung all the way to the other side. I collided with the wooden beams full force. Nick was the first on the scene. He whipped past Ro and Sheila and unloaded his Assault Rifle into the Smoker's body. "Let her go, you bastard!!" he bellowed. The Smoker's tongue was severed, causing me to fall to the ground. For a few seconds, I just lied there. Pain engulfed every nerve in my body and tears were close. I groaned in agony. Lifting my head slightly, I saw a good number of zombies running towards me. I spit blood out of my mouth and pulled out my Desert Eagle or Magnum. I was shooting zombies left and right. I struggled to stand up, causing my aim to be shaky. However, a Hunter leaped through the crowd of zombies at me. I shot it dead in the eye socket, causing its body to flop on top of mine. Too weak to shoot anymore, I used the Hunter's dead body as a shield from the slashing zombies.

While I waited, I pulled out a loose tooth and held onto it. I prayed that my friends will remember that I fell. If not and if this is the end, then I must say a few words. Sheila, you're the best sniper a badass could ever ask for. Ro, be strong for both of us and hit Nick once and a while. Coach, you're a great motivator and a great friend. Ellis, even though I snap at you, I could almost call you my little brother. And Nick…oh Nick I so sorry for betting five bucks off you, pouncing you, hitting you x amount of times, insulting you, traumatizing you, and not telling you the truth.

All of a sudden, the Hunter's body was pulled off me and Coach helped me up. "Come on, Chris. You look horrible." I nodded in agreement. He took my arm and wrapped it around his shoulders. "Lean on me and walk in unison." I nodded again. We limped our way into the safe house, just before a zombie got shot in the head. Ro closed the door behind us.

Coach kindly dumped me onto the floor. I groaned in pain again. "Sorry, Chris. Are you ok?" Coach asked. I grumbled, "Everything…hurts…like…hell…fuck." Sheila sat me up and Ellis handed me some pain pills. "Here. You need these more than I do." I opened the cap and swallowed every one of the pain killers. Some of the aching went away, causing me to sit up on my own. "A little better. Thanks, Ellis." He smiled, "You're welcome." Nick was in a shady corner before I saw him. "Nick?" Ro spoke to him. Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Uh?" he asked. Ro said, "Join us, Nick. I think Chris has something she wants to say to you." He cocked his head, interested. He crawled over to my aching body. "Hey", he simply said. I swung my head around to meet him, but our faces were almost touching, startling both of us. Ellis laughed, but Coach hit him upside the head. He backed away a few inches and blushed. I was turning red as well, causing Sheila to grin evilly. He cleared his throat and spoke softly, "Are you ok?" I nodded without looking him, fearing that he was still very close to me. "Thanks for shooting that Smoker." He looked down in shame and replied, "It still didn't help you too much. You fell from a good height and none of us protected you until Coach ran back to save you." I turned to him and said, "I'm alive aren't I? If you didn't shoot that Smoker, I could have been killed. I'm fine, Nick. I just need to take a few more pain pills and a few shots of adrenaline in order to get my strength back." He nodded in relief.

After 4 shots of adrenaline and 5 pain killers, I was on my feet and ready to fight again. Ro said, "We should rest. We tackled two waves in one day. That's a lot for us. Besides, you need it after surviving that fall." I stood up, causing a Charlie Horse in my right leg. I felt the pain, but I ignored it so it shows that I'm not weak. Ro wasn't buying it. "No." I groaned, like a little kid getting a no from a father or mother. "We need to keep moving forward in order to reach the helicopter in time. We need to get into the stadium, and then I promise that I will set my AK down for the night." She just stared into space, deep in thought. She finally answered, "Fine. But you must be guarded. You're still in pretty bad shape." I sighed, "Fine. Who will be my escort?" She only smiled, making me frown. "Oh come on! He's done enough for one rescue! Let him go!" Ro ignored me and called to Nick, "Nick! If we advance to the stadium tonight, you must escort and protect Chris." He groaned, "Oh come on! Why me?" She replied with a sly grin, "It'll give you two a chance to gain trust." Nick shut up. He'll be violating the con man's code. Me too. The Code was created for a reason: to ensure the survival of the common gambler. He finally sighed, "Fine. I'll do it." Ro patted his shoulder, "Good man, Nick." He only huffed.

Ellis, Coach and Sheila were talking until Ro told them to move out. Confused, Ellis asked, "What's going on, Ro?" She answered, "We're going on one more zombie run before the night's out." Sheila nearly fell out of her seat, "Are you serious?! We already did two runs! Who motivated you to do this?!" Ro placed her left hand on her hip and replied, "Ask the Hunter hunter." Sheila growled my name, "Christina Annabelle Starly!!" I flinched at the sound of my full name. Nick laughed. She shouted, "Are you out of your fucking mind!?" I nodded, "Yeah. I'm too high to think clearly." Nick knew it was a joke so he snickered a little. She hit my shoulder, snarling, "You'll get killed out there without rest! You survived a Tank attack, several Hunters, and a fall from the coaster! Your next heavy attack will be your last!" Ellis grabbed Sheila by the shoulders and pulled her away. Nick called to Ellis, "Calm her down, ok?" Coach also disagreed to this fact of three runs. "That's suicide. One of us is bound to be killed if you run for the stadium." Ro admitted, "I don't like it either, but Chris is right about the copter. If we're not fast enough, we'll miss it." He sighed in understanding and nodded.

I stashed up on pills and shots before we left the safe house. Nick stood beside me, with an auto shotgun in his hands. He turned to me and said, "Alright. If things get too chaotic, you fall back. Take a couple shots and return to fight. You got that?" I nodded, even though I disagreed with it. Despite my "looking out for #1" rule, I refuse to leave anyone for dead. I failed it when my family was attacked. But I don't feel like arguing with Nick right now, so I agreed to make him happy.

Ellis opened the door and all of us trotted out of the safe room, ready to blow up any zombie nearby. Nick stayed close to my side, protecting me from any zombies I missed. I really owe him. Sheila also helped cover me, despite the fact that she's still pissed at me for suggesting the third run. So far, I seemed fine, until the pain pills wore off and I felt my aching muscles and nerves. When that happened, I would quickly pop open another bottle of pain killers and wolf them down.

We were able to make it to the gates in front of the stadium. "Sweet! All we need to do is open the gates, and then we're home free", Ro explained. Taking Nick's role of playing the killjoy, I frowned, "I don't know. It's too easy." As soon as Sheila pushed the button, an alarm went off. We all spiraled around, guns at the ready. However, nothing came. The gates opened and we ran through. As soon as we saw the safe room door, a huge horde came from all directions. It was an ambush.

We blasted our way through the slashing horde. We were attacked at all sides, hardly enabling us of moving forward towards the safe room. As I fought, I heard a Hunter screech. I scanned the area for it, and he was standing on top of the stadium roof. It was him. The Hunter that scarred me. I clenched my fists as rage fuelled my strength. I unloaded my AK clip up at him, but only one bullet hit him. He was hit in the arm, causing him to scream in pain. He looked down on me again and leaped away.

"No!" I screamed. He got away again. In fury, I pulled out my crow bar and went berserk. The other survivors followed me as I whacked and hacked my way to the safe room. We were almost inside, when Nick was attacked by a Spitter. I ran out and literally punched the female zombie in the face, stunning it. Then I shot her in her pie hole with my gun.

"Help!" Nick cried. I ran to his side and helped him stand up. "Come on, man! Don't give up on me now!" Nick and I limped towards the door, while shooting zombies. Coach and Ellis grabbed the collars of our shirts and forcefully pulled us inside. Sheila closed the door and fell to the floor. Nick lied on his back, panting, "We made it by the skin of our teeth." I wheezed, "You can say that again." Almost instantly, all six of us fell asleep due to exhaustion. I was the last to pass out. It was that Hunter. It was truly him I saw on the roof. I could have killed him, but instead all I did was given him a shoulder wound. I groaned in anger and let sleep engulf me. The last thing I saw was Nick's Assault Rifle hardly in his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

_**Chapter 3: We're Going to Rock and Roll All Night! And kill Zombies Everyday!**_

~ _I was sweating like crazy as I darted my eyes for the Hunter. My scar enflamed in pain, causing me to snarl and have my eyes to water slightly. I saw him on top of the highest roof. He howled, alerting the horde. "Oh shit", I grumbled. The horde came walking around me, but I quickly threw a pipe bomb away from me. The mindless zombies ran towards the blinking bomb, unaware that it'll explode once the beeping rapids. Every common infected swarmed the bomb and when it exploded, zombie guts and blood flew everywhere, pelting me. Ignoring the blood and the smell, I raised my AK-47 to the mutant zombie. He grinned and chuckled at me. "Meet your match", he spoke in a very raspy voice. I gasped. He can talk?! The Hunter can actually talk?! I was in shock. All of a sudden, my vision got blurry, causing me to blink. When I looked up back at the Hunter, he was gone. I gasped, "What the hell?! Where are you, you fucker?" I felt him breathing on my neck. My heart stopped. He slashed me around and pounced on my body. I fell with a heavy thud. He gripped my shoulders and began to claw into them, drawing pain and blood. In self-defense, I head butted the Hunter, causing him to snarl. "What the fuck was that for!? Chris, that hurt like a bitch!?" Wait. It sounded like Nick. I spoke, "Nick?" ~_

I woke up from my stiff sleep. I saw Nick in front of me, holding him forehead, teeth baring in pain. Sheila shouted, "What the hell, Chris?! Why did you do that?!" I looked at her and innocently said, "Sorry, but my nightmare made me believe that Nick was a Hunter." Ellis spoke behind me, "I've heard a lot of batshit crazy ideas, but that one takes the cake." Coach laughed, "Nick? A Hunter? That's a good one! I'm writing that down." I looked at Nick, who was rubbing his forehead to ease the pain. I grumbled, "Damn nightmare." Nick snarled, "Nightmare my ass! It's just an excuse to hurt me!" I stood up and looked down on the conman, "I'm not hurting you on purpose! Why would I do that, other than the fact you can be a total asshole?!" He stood up and stared at me with his sharp, acid colored eyes. "I don't know. Maybe because this group isn't big enough for two grifters." I scoffed, "Yeah right! That's the entire reason I hurt you! Good job. Nick! You'd make a great detective!" Nick knew I was being sarcastic. He growled at me. "At least I'm not a sick, vengeful bitch!" I was on the verge of attacking him, but Coach and Ro pulled me away from him. "Nick, you're a fucking bastard and I wish you would go to Hell!!" Ellis and Sheila gasped a little. Nick just stood there, absorbing what I just said to him. Ellis went to Nick's side and said, "Don't worry about her. She's just…er…" "Bitchy?" Nick answered for him. Ellis shook his hand as if to say "maybe." I sneered at his comment. "Sticks and stones, Nickolas. Only bullets kill." Nick was taken back when I called him "Nickolas." Apparently, he doesn't like it when called by his full first name. Hell, I hate it when I'm called "Christina."

Coach, Ro, Ellis and Sheila waited tensely as we just stared at each other. They were waiting to see who would make the next move. I sighed. "Nick, sorry I head butted you and I'm sorry that I called you 'Nickolas' and I'm sorry I…" He raised his hand, ceasing my talking. "I get it", he grumbled. Everyone let out the breath they all were holding. Ro decided to change the subject, "Does anyone have an idea how we're getting out of here?" Coach said, "What if we use the Midnight Rider's stage and equipment to signal the helicopter?" Nick replied, "That's the stupidest plan I've ever agreed on." I chuckled at his comment. He only looked at me with no expression on his face. I shut up really quick. Ellis began one of his stories, "Have I ever told you guys about the time me and Keith made homemade fireworks?" Ro quickly asked, "Ellis, sweetie, can this wait?" He simply said, "Ok." He was a little disappointed that he couldn't tell his story, but Sheila placed her hand on his shoulder, assuming him that he'll get a chance to tell it. Not right now, though.

We reloaded our weapons and get ready for battle. Everyone got a med kit, some sort of bomb, and a melee weapon. Coach opened the door and we fought our way through the hallway filled with zombies. Luckily, we came across bathrooms. Coach quickly announced, "Piss break! Ladies go first." Us girls shrugged and walked into the ladies bathroom. We shot any zombies loitering in the bathrooms and we dragged their bodies outside with the guys. Once the bathroom was clear of zombie corpses, we picked stalls and pissed. Ro called to me, "Are you ok? Flipping out on Nick wasn't cool." Sheila added, "Sending him to Hell was uncalled for." I sighed, "Can we drop that? It's in the past now. That's where it should be." It was quiet for about five seconds, until I snarled, "Oh bloody Hell!" Ro asked, "What's wrong?" I replied, "Well…I've got a problem." Sheila joked, "You and Nick should create a club" I growled, "Enough about Nick! I don't tease you about Ellis!" She giggled and said, "Touché. Tell you what: I don't tease you and you won't tease me, ok?" I nodded, "Deal. Now my problem is red, monthly, and guys hate the topic." Both girls went "Ooohhh. That sucks." I asked, "Does anyone have a quarter?" Ro said, "Nope." Sheila added, "Not me either." I growled, "Oh great! Maybe we can break the box." Sheila said, "Good idea. Nick has an axe. The perfect weapon to bash the box open." I snarled, "There's no way in Hell he's coming in here! I'd rather have a Tank come in here and smash me to bits!" Ro said to Sheila, "Damn. She has it bad." She nodded and replied, "Oh hell yeah."

I asked, "Who else has an axe?" It became quiet. Then Sheila said, "No one. I'll go and get Nick's axe and I'll break it open." I nodded, "You do that. I'm not coming out until…fuck, you know." Sheila flushed and went outside to retrieve the axe.

Sheila walked to the guys, who were just waiting around. Ellis asked her, "What's going on, Sheila?" She replied, "Nothing. I just need to borrow Nick's axe." Nick spoke a little too quickly, "Why?" Coach and Ellis looked at him with wonder. Sheila answered, "I need it to take care of something." Nick gripped his axe, asking, "What kind of something?" She grinned evilly and said, "It's a woman thing." All three guys stared at each with horror. Nick then shoved the axe into Sheila's hands, replied, "Nuff' said." She smiled, "Thanks, Nick. I'll give it back." So she strolled back into the bathroom and found the box full of tampons and pads. "This is going to be sweet." She swung the axe and nearly took the whole box off the wall. "Jesus! What the hell?!" I barked. Sheila replied, "Relax. I got it open. Here they come."

We girls emerged and the guys took their turn. Sheila returned Nick's axe to him. As the guys walked into the bathroom, we leaned against the wall and waited for a good two minutes. I reloaded my AK and said to Sheila, "Thanks for doing that. That's why I went ballistic on Nick earlier. He's not that much of an asshole. But he's still an asshole." Then we heard, "It's nice to see I'm not completely hated by all." It was Nick and the rest of the guys, all ready to go. "Now we know why you're acting like bitch", he continued. I said, "I know. I know. Sorry about snapping at you earlier." He nodded, "Don't worry about it. By the way, you own me five bucks." I frowned, "Why?" He grinned, "On the Coaster, I saved your life. I won that bet. Pay up." I growled as I reached into my pocket and pulled out that five I won from him two days ago. He snatched it and said, "Sucker. Remember, Chris, I always win. One way or another." I scoffed, "You stole that line from Titanic, Cal." He chuckled, "So?" I countered, "You cheated. Well at least you're not like Leonardo DiCaprio. He was hot in that movie." Ro laughed and slapped me on the shoulder, "Hell ya, sister! He was smoking hot!" Ellis said as he smoothed out his dirty brown hair, "Come on now. Any blonde guy is hot. But it's the brown haired guys that are the life of the party!" Sheila giggled as she asked, "Are you trying to make a statement, Ellis?" He blushed slightly, realizing that Sheila caught it. Coach said, "Alright. Enough boy talk girls. We have a chopper to signal."

"There's the stage", Coach said as we got outside. I looked around the bleachers and chuckled, "Do you think these zombies are waiting for the show?" Ellis replied, "Hell, I would. I love the Midnight Riders." Sheila said, "I'm a rock and roll fan myself. However, I've never heard any songs done by the Midnight Riders." Ellis gasped, "Well then, Sheila. Prepare to be blown away by their music!" Ro asked, "What kind of music you listen to, Chris? You must love music if you have an IPod on you." I replied, "I'm a metal, rock and roll, alterative fan. Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Within Temptation, Nickelback, Aerosmith, and it goes on." Coach replied, "That's some impressive music, Chris. Do you sing any of it?" Before I could answer, Nick blurted out, "She sings in her sleep." I blushed, "Am I good, Nick?" He blushed too. "Well…er…umm…I can't recall. I was half asleep…with a hangover to notice." I rolled my eyes, because I knew he was dodging the answer. "Last time I checked, water doesn't give one hangovers, but hey. Whatever floats your boat, Nick." He blushed so hard, I could feel the heat radiating off his body.

We fought our way to the stage and we went to the control station under the tent. Coach said, "We need to set up the lights and fire up the music. Any volunteers?" Sheila and Ellis raised their hands in unison. Coach nodded and ushered them to the top of the bleachers. Ellis hit the lights and shouted, "Lights on!" The lights on the stage blasted on, blinding Nick, Coach, Ro and I. "Jesus!" I snarled in pain. Ellis and Sheila jumped back onto the stage and Ellis grabbed the lead mic. He began singing one of the songs, "Every lady's crazy when her daddy's not around...gotta reach for the top, stay on the mountain..." until he needed an adrenaline shot, which everyone heard because he shook himself awake in the mic. Nick ran to the control panel and called, "Pushing the button that says 'Finale.'" He pushed it and the music began blaring in all speakers around the auditorium. I grabbed a guitar and shouted with Nick, "Are you guys ready to rock!?"

The horde came running. All of us grinned. Sheila and Ellis fought their way to a sniper tower in order for Sheila to snipe from above. Ellis stayed close to the ladder, protecting her from any zombies planning to climb up and attack her. Ro and Coach stayed on the stage with Nick and me. We were killing zombies left and right, not even getting a chance to blink. I needed a med kit so I darted my eyes around for one. There was a med supply cabinet up near the light panel. I threw my pipe bomb away from us, causing the mindless cannibals to run after it. I jumped off the stage and ran up the bleachers. I opened the cabinet and grabbed a med kit. As soon as I healed, zombies blocked my escape. I grabbed my guitar and whacked them away from me. They began scratching me and clawing me. In pain, I yelped. Nick was on the scene almost immediately. "I've got your back!" he shouted over the carnage. I smiled, "Boy, am I glad to see you!" He grinned and we stood back-to-back, fighting off the undead horde.

A screech made my blood run cold. A Hunter was nearby. I shouted to Nick, "I hear a Hunter. Keep your eyes peeled!" He nodded and grew edgy. I saw it, so I waited for it to attack me. There was hardly any room for us to move, so I had to face it head-on. To my surprise, it didn't attack me; it attacked Nick! "Get this thing off me!" he bellowed in pain as the Hunter scratched his chest. I screamed, "Give it a headbutt!" He obeyed. He headbutted it hard in the head, causing it to stagger off his body. Then I beat it over the head with my guitar, killing it. The hit was so hard to the jaw; one of its teeth flew out of its jaw. I ignored it for right now and helped Nick back up to his feet. "Thanks, Chris." He grumbled weakly. "You're welcome, Nick", I replied.

We heard a chopper over our heads. Sheila shouted, "The helicopter's here!!" Nick quipped, "I think the pilot wants us to turn it down." I laughed as we fought our way to the chopper. On the way there, I picked up the Hunter tooth on the ground. Sheila and Ellis joined us as we fought our way through the zombies. A Tank bellowed at Ro and Coach, who were still on the stage. I shouted, "Sheila! Throw your Molotov!" She nodded and tossed the bottle of inferno on the Tank. It bellowed in pain and came charging at us. We scattered in order to avoid the burning zombie. We opened fire on it and strafed our way to the chopper. Coach and Ro ran to the flying vehicle while firing at the Tank as well. It finally collapsed dead, enabling us to reach the chopper without anymore Tank problems. We piled in and it took off.

We all leaned back, panting and sweaty. Nick's chest was stained with blood from when the Hunter attacked him. A small whelp appeared on his forehead, either from when I headbutted him or from when he headbutted the Hunter off of him. Sheila hardly suffered any injuries, but Ellis looked really beat up. I guess he didn't let any zombies near her and used his own body as a shield. Coach and Ro suffered several scratches and burns from their fight on the stage. I too suffered many scratches from the zombies. We were all exhausted.

The copilot spoke to us, "Y'all all right?" Ro replied, "We're fine, now that we're out of that rock and roll hell." Ellis looked up at the voice. "You sound familiar." The copilot turned around to face us and Ellis gasped. "Holy Hell! Lil' bro!" The copilot beamed. "Sweet Jesus! Ellis!" Ellis stood up and gave the copilot a noogie. We stared at each other with confusion. Sheila asked, "Who is this, Ellis?" Ellis cleared his throat, replying, "This is my lil' bro, Alex Bucker! I thought the infected got ya!" Alex shook his head. "Are you kidding?! As soon as I learned about the infection and copilots were short, I signed myself up and became a pilot in trainin'! I love it so far!" Ellis let go of his brother and replied, "Well, I'm glad yere ok! These are my friends: Rochelle, Sheila, Chris, Coach and lastly Nick! We're a team that kicks zombie ass!" Alex bowed to us in a southern fashion, stating, "Nice to meet y'all! Thanks for lookin' out for my bro!"

The pilot decided to cut this reunion short. "Alex, focus on flying. I need to give the passengers supplies." He pulled out a big box full of food and water. We looked at it with awe. Finally, some real food! However, as soon as I saw the M&Ms, I snatched them like a ninja. Nick reached for an apple and I noticed he was in massive pain. I took a spare med kit off my back and tapped Nick's shoulder. He faced me and then he looked at the med kit. He did the math. He shook his head, "No. I'm fine. I don't need a nurse to help me with my wounds." I placed my hand on his scratch, causing him to hiss in pain. "Don't be stubborn, Nick. Let me help you." He gritted his teeth and replied, "No. You helped me by telling me to headbutt the Hunter. Thanks for that tip. But I don't need to be tended to." I pressed harder, causing his hissing to grow louder. "Alright, alright!" he barked in agony. I grinned in victory. I commanded, "Lean back and remove your shirt." He turned bright red, but obeyed regardless. He removed his once white jacket and began peeling his blood stained blue shirt away. Since the blood made the shirt to stick to his wound, it caused him great pain as he removed it. His chest was taut and fit, causing me to turn as red as his bloody scratch. Sheila "accidently" hit the metal hull with the butt of her sniper, snapping me out of my sudden fantasy. "Time to focus on the task at hand", I thought. I examined the scratch. It wasn't too deep, but if it doesn't get healed, it will get infected. I reached into the med kit and got some rubbing alcohol and cotton balls. I poured some alcohol onto one of the balls and told Nick, "Brace yourself. This will sting." As soon as I placed the alcohol damped cotton ball on his scratch, he hissed and snarled, "Fuck! That hurts!" I chuckled, "I told you it will!" I rubbed the dried blood away from his taut chest and tossed the bloody cotton ball aside. I grabbed the linen bandages and told him to sit up. He did and I began wrapping the bandages over his scratch wounds. Once he was patched up, I gave him back his shirt and jacket. He quickly put them on and ate his apple.

Sheila was smirking at me. I looked at her and asked, "What?" Her smirk grew as she replied, "Nothing." Ro asked, "Does anyone know a good joke?" We all grinned at the thought. I started:

**While on a trip to Saudi Arabia, 3 Americans accidentally stumbled into a harem filled with more than a hundred beautiful women. Just as they started getting friendly with these women, the Sheik burst in and roared, "I am the master of all these woman. No one else may touch them except me. You three men must pay for what you have done today, and you will be punished according to your profession."**

**The Sheik turned to the first guy and demanded to know what he did for a living. "I'm a cop", replied the man. Then we will shoot your penis off", announced the Sheik. Then the Sheik turned to the second guy and asked him what he did for a living. "I'm a fireman", came the reply. "Then we will burn your penis off", declared the Sheik. Then Sheik asked the third guy what he did for a living. Barely suppressing a smile, the guy answered, "I'm a lollipop salesman."**

Everyone began laughing at the sick, yet funny joke. Ellis said between laughs, "You have a sick mind. But it's hilarious!" He began his joke:

**During her annual check-up, a pretty young woman was asked to disrobe and climb onto the examining table. "Doctor", she said shyly, "I can't undress in front of you." "That's ok", he said. "I'll flick off the lights. You get undressed and tell me when you're through." A few minutes later, her voice rang out in the darkness, "Doctor, I've undressed. What should I do with my clothes?" "Just put them over here, on top of mine…"**

Nick chuckled at the joke. Sheila elbowed Ellis, quipping, "That was dirty! I almost had a doctor do that to me! Thank God I knew well enough to kick him in the balls. He was howling for a week!" He laughed at her comment. Then Alex shouted, "I've got a joke for y'all:"

**What's soft and warm when you go to bed, but hard and stiff when you wake up? Vomit.**

Everyone laughed because it was funny without being too dirty. However, to most guys, dirty jokes are the funniest. Coach began to tell his joke:

**An old maid wanted to travel by bus to the pet cemetery with the remains of her cat. As she boarded the bus, she whispered to the driver, "I have a dead pussy." The driver pointed to the woman in the seat behind him and said, "Sit next to my wife. You two have a lot in common."**

I laughed pretty hard, but not as hard as Ellis. He loves a good joke. Sheila's ribs began to hurt from her laughter. It was Ro's turn to tell a joke:

**The mother of a problem child was advised by a psychiatrist, "You worry about your son too much, and it is causing you needless anxiety. I'm going to put you on a course of tranquillizers."**

**On her next visit, the psychiatrist asked, "Have the tranquillizers calmed you down?" "Oh yes", she replied, "They have worked wonders." "And how is your son?" "Who cares?"**

Ellis laughed and pointed at Nick, "That's you, Nick. You wouldn't care about your kids!" I hit him in Nick's defense. "That's uncalled for, Ellis. You don't know that." Nick scoffed, "Since you found that funny, I'll tell you a joke I found hilarious:"

**Billy-Bob was riding in Jed's truck. Suddenly Jed pulled over, got out and pointed to a field and said misty-eyed, "That's where I first had sex." "How was it?" asked Billy-Bob. "Great!" Jed replied, "Until I looked up and saw her mother was watching." "Holy shit! What did she say?" "Baaa."**

I laughed so hard, I snorted. My snorted ignited everyone's laughter. My ribs began to hurt. Sheila retorted at the laughing conman, "Since you thought that was funny, I'm going to tell a joke that you'll love":

**It was Little Johnny's first day at school, and his father warned the teacher that the boy was an avid gambler. He said that Johnny might win lunch money from the other children if he's not watched closely. The teacher was not unduly worried by this news and insisted that she was perfectly capable of monitoring Johnny's gambling urges.**

**Shortly after lunch on that day, Johnny's father called the teacher to ask how things are going. "Everything's fine", she said, "In fact. I think I may have cured Johnny of his gambling habit." "How did you manage that?" asked the father.**

"**Well", explained the teacher, "the little monkey absolutely insisted on betting me 10 dollars that I had a mole on my rear. Finally, I agreed to the bet and took him to the staff room so that I could show him that I had no mole. Now that he's lost his money, I don't think he'll be gambling again." "Damn!" said the father, "He bet me 50 bucks this morning that he would see the teacher's ass before the day was over!"**

Everyone cackled at the gambling joke, including Nick. He snorted, "If I knew that one, I would have pulled that bet off when I was in high school. My Spanish teacher was a hottie!" He tried to purr, but it sounded more like a machine gun. Everyone chuckled at his failed attempt. I countered, "I pulled it off on one of my college professors. It was hilarious!" Nick giggled, "Are you sure it was a bet and not foreplay?" I hit his shoulder, blushing like a beacon. He laughed at my red face.

Alex was howling up at the cockpit, ignoring his duties. The pilot snapped at him, "Alex, pay attention! You need to take over for a little while. I don't feel very well." Alex nodded as the copilot began the pilot. I opened my bag of M&Ms and scarfed them down like pain pills. Alex asked me, "You like M&Ms?" I nodded, "Hell ya. They're my crack." Sheila said to Alex, "I didn't know Ellis had a little brother. Most of his stories involve his friend Keith." Ellis snapped his fingers and shouted, "I almost forget about the fireworks story!" Nick and I groaned. Don't get me wrong; Ellis is a great dude, but even I have a limit on how much talking he can do. I pulled my solar-powered IPod out of my pocket and began listening to "Break" by Breaking Benjamin. I instantly smiled as the song boomed into my ears. I leaned back to relax, but something stopped me. I feared the worse: Nick. I quickly said, "Sheila, who or what is behind me?" Sheila began laughing pretty loud. I growled, "I thought we had a deal! No teasing!" She snorted, "This isn't teasing! This is laughing at your situation!" I growled and wiggled away from Nick, who was the one I leaned into. "Good thing the song I'm not listening to is 'Lean on Me'", I grumbled. Ellis chuckled, "That would be very appropriate and embarrassing!" "I see nothing in your eyes. And the more I see, the less I like. Is it over yet? In my head! I know nothing of your kind. And I won't reveal your evil mind. Is it over yet? I can't wait!" I sang along with the song to avoid their banter. Ro pulled one of my ear buds off and shouted, "We can all hear the song! Turn it down!" I cringed at the pain in my ear. "No. You take the breath right out of me! You left a hole where my heart should be! You gotta fight just to make it through, because I'll be the death of you!" Ro rolled her eyes and let me sing my song. I noticed Nick bobbing his head to the song and began humming as well. I guess he knew it or he lost too much blood to care anymore.

Once that song was over, I stopped singing, giving Ellis a chance to tell his story. I looked behind me so I can lean back without Nick as a cushion. Thank God he wasn't. I leaned against the cold, metal wall of the helicopter and eat more M&Ms. Nick was examining his rings on his fingers. "What a pimp", I thought to myself. I spoke out loud, "Wake me when you need me." Sheila hit my leg and quipped, "Who's the quote stealer now, Master Chief?" I flipped her off as I closed my eyes to snooze. Hopefully, Nick doesn't wake me again during one of my nightmares.


	4. Chapter 4

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

_**Chapter 4: Swamp Land Brawl**_

Surprisingly, I didn't have a nightmare this time around. Well, I was listening to my IPod, so it normally helps keeping my Hunter problems at bay. It was about me back in my high school days. I was so young and fiery back then. Hell, I'm twice as fiery now! I saw my first boyfriend, Marshall making love to me for the first time. Feelings of love and hatred began to swirl in my head, causing to turn in my sleep. It felt so real, that I needed to get away from it. "Wake me up!!" I bellowed in my dream state.

A shotgun blast rang in my ears about a second later. I shot up to my knees, startled by the sudden gun shot. Shortly following the blast, Alex screamed, "Holy shit! Brace yourselves, y'all!" The helicopter flipped and tossed in the air, causing us to shake around like a tossed salad. I grabbed ahold of the pilot's chair to hold on. However, it wasn't enough to prevent me from flying into the windshield as the chopper crashed into an empty field. I groaned in pain as I rubbed my head. Alex asked me, "Are you k'?" I saw the pilot, who had a huge section of his head blown off from the shot gun blast I heard. I grumbled as I stood up, "Who's the asshole who shot the pilot?!" Everyone pointed at Nick, who held a smoking auto shotgun in his hands. He scoffed, "Thanks for ratting me out, guys." I snarled as I climbed over the dead pilot, "Damn it Nick! I'm going to shoot you in the ass!!" He gulped and cursed, "Oh shit!" As I scrambled over the debris from the crash, Nick pressed himself against the hull nearest the door. I almost leaped at him, but Coach caught me, pulling me away from the conman. "Beating him up isn't going to help us. Chill the hell out, Chris!" I struggled in Coach's grip, watching Nick scrambling to get the door open. Sheila sighed as she spoke matter-of-factly, "Pull the lever down, Nick." He stopped for a second and studied the door. The red arrow pointed in a down arch, telling the person to pull the lever down. "Oh", Nick se pulled it down and the door hissed open. He bolted out the door, while everyone else walked out of the crashed chopper.

Coach finally let go of me and let me fall in the dirt; my legs were weak from the crash. "Nick! Come back so I can fill your ass with lead!!" I barked at his retreating form. Ro shook her head and defended, "He shot the pilot because he was infected. He's not that stupid, shooting the pilot without a reason." Wait…the pilot was infected? And Nick shot him to protect us. "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH. Oops. Now I really feel like a bitch. Damn menstrual cycle!" I turned to Alex and Ellis, who were dusting themselves off. "Ellis. Alex. Can you boys bring Nick back? I need to apologize…again." Ellis evilly grinned at me and ushered his little bro to follow him. Nick was looking down the path, when the Bucker brothers walked up behind him. "Come on back, Nick. She didn't mean it", Ellis said in a comforting tone. Nick snapped, "That psycho bitch will shoot me in the ass! No thanks." Alex countered, "She wants to apologize for her actions. She knows why you shot the pilot." Nick huffed like a little kid and shook his head. Ellis sighed, "So be it, Nick." He grabbed his left arm and Alex quickly grabbed his right arm. "Hey! Let me go, you dumbshits!" Nick snarled. Alex retorted, "That hurt, Nick. Seriously!" Ellis soothed his younger brother, "You'll get used to him…eventually." They dragged Nick back to the group, while the captive struggled all the way there.

I stood up as Ellis and Alex returned with their struggling conman. As they let go, I spoke to Nick, "I'm sorry, Nick. I didn't mean to pounce at you…" "Like you did the first time?" Ellis teased. Ro walked to him and smacked his head as I blushed at the memory. Nick blushed too. That pounce was very awkward for both of us. I continued talking, "Anyway, I promise not to attack you if you warn me before you do something out of place." Sheila walked next to Nick and performed the purr he failed to do earlier. We both grew redder and I snapped, "Sheila! You're such a pervert!! No teasing remember!" She shrugged innocently, "It must have slipped my mind." Nick scoffed, "My ass! Wait a minute." He turned to me and asked, "What teasing?" I darted my eyes, thinking of some sort of bluff. I grinned and replied, "No teasing over the fact that I like Ellis." Everyone stopped what they were doing when I said that. Nick gained a shocked look on his face. Ellis blushed and replied, "I'm flattered, Chris. I really am, but I don't like you in that way. You're not my type. Besides, I have my eye on someone else." I rolled my eyes, thinking that he just gave away his little secret. It's obvious that he likes Sheila and everyone knows that. Well, except for his brother. Ellis raised his hand to me and continued, "No hard feelings?" I nodded as I played a grin. I shook his hand, "No hard feelings, Ellis. We'll just remain friends." "Cool. Will do, Chris!"

Alex asked, "Where the hell are we?" Ellis released my hand and snapped at Alex, "You're the copilot! You should know where we are!" He retorted back, "The chopper was going to New Orleans to pick up additional survivors! We must have landed somewhere between Whisperin' Oaks and New Orleans! That's all I know!" Ellis sighed and replied, "Ok. First things first. Everyone grab a weapon!" I walked back into the destroyed chopper, hoping that I can still use my AK. I was able to grab Sheila's sniper. "Hey, Sheila! Here's your sniper!" I shouted as I tossed it outside. A loose bullet was in the barrel and when I tossed it outside, it fired. Everyone jumped out of the way and the bullet nailed a Hunter in the head from a hundred feet away. Alex whistled, "Damn! Nice shot!" I poked my head out and saw the smoking sniper and then at the faraway corpse. "Wow. What luck!" Grabbing the rest of the M&Ms, I leaped out with my AK in my hands and walked to the carcass.

I kneeled before the dead zombie and pulled out my Swiss Army knife. Nick warned Alex, "This little obsession of hers may be a little gruesome." Alex asked, "What obsession?" I plucked the tooth out and showed Alex. "This obsession", I replied. He stared at the blood-stained tooth with awe. "You are one badass bitch, Chris. I'm sure glad you're on our side!" I grinned as I stuffed the tooth in my pocket, "Thanks. Glad to see that someone doesn't think I'm a lunatic." Nick rolled his eyes and pulled out his Magnum. Everyone else had to grab broken or damaged weapons. Alex was stuck without a firearm. Ro asked, "Alex, do you have a weapon at all?" He scratched his head for a second and then snapped his fingers in discovery. He pulled out a butterfly knife from his pocket. Coach scoffed, "That'll do you very little when the horde comes." Alex snapped, "It's better than your damaged weapons! Besides, it's the only weapon I've got. Ellis never let me use a real gun! I was stuck with Nerf guns and darts!" Ellis retorted, "You're too young to handle a gun! You could kill yourself!" I growled at the sibling bickering. "Enough, you two! We're in the middle of a fucking zombie apocalypse! Everyone gets a fucking gun! Fuck me!" I began panting like a crazy person and looked down the path. Everyone got really quiet after my meltdown. Alex was terrified of my attitude. Sheila had to comfort him by whispering in his ear, "She's much better than this. Two words: woman thing." Alex shivered at the thought. She slapped his shoulder and said, "Exactly."

I spotted an abandoned gas station down the road. I felt a bet coming on. "Nick! Come up here!" I heard his footsteps approach me and halted next to me. "What? What is it?" he asked. I pointed to the station and asked, "See that station?" He nodded. I continued, "I bet you five bucks that there are weapons inside." He scoffed, "I'm feeling lucky. You're on!" We shook hands and Nick ushered the rest of the party to advance forward.

We were able to get into the station with very little zombie problems. On the counter, there was an Assault Rifle, Auto Shotgun, Pump Shotgun, Hunting Rifle, and a Grenade Launcher. Melee weapons like the axe, the skillet and the machete were on the floor. An ammo pile was near the door. Nick groaned, "Fuuuuck." I grinned and nudged his side, stating, "Pay up!" He groaned again as he fished around his pockets for the five dollar bill he won from me last night. He pulled it out and I snapped it away. "You win a little, you lose a little, Nick", I chuckled as I stuffed it into my other pocket. As I grabbed ammo for my AK, Nick grumbled, "I tend to lose a lot when you came into my life." "Consider me bad luck."

Alex saw the Grenade Launcher and immediately grabbed it. Ellis was a little too protective of his younger brother. "I don't think so", he growled, "Big boys play with big toys!" Alex scoffed, "I am a big boy, Ellis! You may not like it, but I am! I can handle this Grenade Launcher!" Sheila saw how tense Ellis got, so she grabbed his shoulders and soothed, "Relax, Ellis. We need all the help we can get. Trust your little brother, k'?" He sighed deeply and slowly nodded, "Ok." Alex wooted as he loaded the high-powered weapon. Ellis grumbled as he walked to the door, "Damn you, zombies."

Once everyone got their weapons and supplies, we cleared the station and walked down the road. As we blasted zombies, we came across a watery gap that was un-swimmable, possibly because of crocodiles. Sheila asked while we stared into the shadowy water, "Who can swim?" Alex, Sheila, and I raised our hands, while Ro, Coach, Nick, and Ellis looked down in shame. I said, "Ok. If any of you four fall into the water, shout for help and one of us will save you." "Sounds good", Coach replied. Nick countered, "What if we stay away from the water all together?!" I pressed the lever for the ferry and snapped, "Fine. Stay here with the zombies while we advance forward and get rescued." Nick growled, "You don't have to be sarcastic, Chris." I smirked evilly and said, "I wasn't." Nick flinched and everyone else went "Ooooo!" The groaning of the horde caught our attention. We began killing zombies as if they were ducks with targets at the carnival. A Charger saw me and decided to ram me. Sadly, I didn't see the Charger because I was dealing with a Spitter and a Smoker at the same time. It charged at me full speed, but Nick saw it and tackled me out of the way. The Charger fell in the water and we watched the one-armed zombie flailing in the water until it drowned. Nick commented, "I guess zombies can't swim either." "That's good in our cause" added. Ro barked over the madness, "Love birds! The ferry's here!!" Nick scrambled off me and turned beet red. I stood up and ushered him to the ferry.

A Hunter jumped onto the ferry before the gate closed. Alex screamed, "Crazy legs!" Before it got a chance to attack Alex, I round-house kicked it. My kick forced one of its teeth out of its mouth as it stumbled against the railing. I quickly punched it in the face, sending it screeching into the watery abyss below. However, my hand throbbed like hell. I flailed it in pain, growling, "Ow, ow, ow, mother-fucking ow!" Alex chuckled, "You have a dirty mouth on ya. By the way, thanks for protecting me." I rubbed my knuckles as I replied, "You're welcome. That creature is called a Hunter. I'm a Hunter hunter. Remember that."

As soon as we got off the ferry, we heard a Tank roar through the trees. "Oh shit!" we all shouted in unison. It crashed into the clearing and threw a concrete slab at us. We scattered away from the flying debris and opened fire on the beast. Alex asked, "What the hell is that thing!?" Shelia shouted, "That's the Tank! Shoot it!!" Alex nodded as he aimed his Grenade Launcher at it. He pulled the trigger and a grenade nailed it in the shoulder, causing it to sheik in pain. Alex wooted, "Hell ya! I hit that bad mother-fucker! Take that!!" The Tank turned to him with a pissed-off look on its face. Alex's attitude went from hyper and cocky to "oh shit" mode. The Tank charged at him and Alex booked it, screaming like a little girl. The rest of the team watched in amusement. Alex ran for the bank of the river, made a sharp turn and the Tank fell into the water, sinking like a boulder. Alex stopped and looked behind him. Seeing the Tank sink, he got cocky again, "You got owned, bitch! Don't mess with Alex Bucker!!" Ellis removed his cap and face-palmed himself in embarrassment. Ro laughed at Ellis, stating, "Good thing I'm an only child." Ro's comment made me think of my siblings, pain stirring in my veins at the memories of them. My whole family was killed by the infected, with me being the only survivor. Only Sheila knows about my true pain. I spoke lowly to Ellis, "You should be happy that you still have family left. Count your blessings, redneck!" Sheila sighed at my tone. Everyone else looked at me with concern. I growled at them, "Let's keep moving."

We came across a catwalk, so we decided to use it to stay above the water and the marsh. I was not in a good mood at all, thanks to my problem and the memories of my family's death. Sheila wanted to cheer me up somehow, but she came across a snake on the walk in front of her. She stopped dead, because she's not the biggest snake fan. Nick took the lead, oblivious to the snake. He tripped over it, falling forward, "Shit!" He landed with an "oomph!" He cursed, "Ow! Fuck! Who tripped me!?" The snake slithered across his back, causing him to freeze in place. He prayed, "Please be someone's arm. Please be someone's arm!" Coach sadly answered, "It's no one's arm, Nick." Alex added, "It's a python!" Nick yelled, "Get this thing off me! I can feel it tightening!" Alex grabbed his newly obtained pistol and aimed for the snake. He fired, but it missed and the bullet went into the flesh of Nick's ass. He yowled in pain and snarled at the younger Bucker, "Shoot me again. Shoot me again! I dare ya!" I shoved Alex out of my way, grumbling, "No wonder Ellis never gave you a gun. Your aiming sucks." He ignored my insult. I shot the snake in the head, seeing Nick flinch for a second. I pulled the dead carcass off his back and tossed it away. "You're safe now, you big baby." He snarled, "I'm safer with that snake than with you! Psycho bitch with a gun! PMS chick with a firearm! Spoiled brat with – aaaaahhhhhh!!!!" My Magnum shot a cap right into the other cheek of his ass. I kneeled down and snarled in his ear, "You can call me any and every swear name in the dictionary, but you never, EVER, call me a spoiled brat!! Got that, Nick!!??" He was suddenly terrified of me. Sheila pulled me up and away from him. He was about to talk, but the howling and moaning of the zombies cut him off. Coach helped Nick to his feet and said, "We'll take care of your ass once we save ours!"

We fought our way through the horde as we ran across the cat walk. Every step Nick took inflicted pain on him. He gritted his teeth and made weird faces to show his suffering. Part of me wanted to explode into hysterical laughter, but the other half wanted to help him, because I feel guilty for shooting him. Alex and I had to cover him, because we were the ones who shot him in the first place. Besides, I refuse to leave anyone for dead. Even if it is Nick. Nick hobbled ahead and a Boomer was in front of him. "Oh shit!" Before the Boomer vomited on him, I quickly shot it in the head, clearing the path for him. Ro was attacked by a Smoker about five feet away from the safe room. Alex shot at it about five times and only one bullet hit it in the shoulder. Ellis finished it off with a shot to the head, making it explode in a puff of green smoke. Sheila was the first to reach the safe room, followed closely by Ellis and Ro. Coach covered Alex, Nick and I closing the door behind us.

The safe room was in a drainage pipe. Nick groaned in pain as he tried to bend down. "We hear you, Nick", I scoffed. He looked up and snarled, "You did this to me. Shut up." Coach commanded, "Nick, bend over. Chris, hand me your knife." Nick's eyes bugged out of his head. "There's no way that blood-stained knife is going near my ass!" Coach countered, "If we don't get those bullets out, you can get lead-poisoning!" I added, "I clean my knife! It's sterile! Jesus, it's not that dirty! Besides, we're in a drainage pipe! Not the most sterile place, I'll admit." Alex pulled out his butterfly knife and handed it to Coach. "Here, use this. I hardly used it and I bought it about a week ago." Coach nodded, "Thanks, Alex. Time to pull some bullets out. Drop your pants. Nick." Ro, Sheila, and I couldn't help giggling when Nick played with his belt. Our giggling made him freeze; he forgot that we were in here. "Ellis, can you escort the women out of here?!" he spoke in a hissing tone. Ellis laughed, "Why? You don't want an audience?" Nick's face grew red again, making him very uncomfortable. The song "You Can Leave Your Hat On" from the Full Monty movie played in my head, which made me laugh more. Nick grew redder. Coach snapped, "Do it, Ellis!" "Ok! Jeez, Coach. Come on girls. No free stripper show today." Ro whined, "But Chris was so looking forward to it!" I hit her, barking, "Shut up!"

Before I walked out, Nick quickly shouted, "Betcha five bucks you'll be laughing at my pain, Chris!" I retorted as I faced him, "You know what, Niiiii…" I was stopped short because his pants were already around his ankles. He froze like a manikin as we linked eyes. Thank God he was wearing boxers. Dark blue ones too! I quickly replied, "You're on" and I bolted out the door.

I guess the look on my face made Ro and Sheila laugh. My eyes were wide, my arms were shaking and one side of my jaw was hanging open. Ro asked as she laughed, "Did he moon you?" I shook my head. I was too shocked to speak. Sheila waved her hand in front of my face, hoping to snap me out of my traumatic state. She grinned and told Ro, "I've got the cure for this. Hey Chris. Spill the beans girl!" That sentence to both me and Sheila makes us go into a mode we call "fan girl" mode. I blinked and I began talking rapidly, "Holy shit! He bet me five bucks and he had his pants down. Thank God he doesn't go commando!" I shivered at the mere thought. Ro asked, "Boxers or briefs?" I blushed, "Boxers." Sheila asked, "What color?" I grew redder, "Dark blue." Sheila snickered, "You're blushing!" I snapped, "No I'm not! It's just the heat!"

In the safe room, we heard Nick scream, "Owww! Jesus Christ!" I placed my hand over my mouth to prevent me from laughing. Ellis barked, "Quit being a baby! Man up for your girl out there!" Nick barked back, "Chris is not my girl owww! Fuck my luck!" Ellis grinned slyly, "I didn't say it was Chris." Nick gritted his teeth, while Coach chuckled, "Busted, Nick." He snarled, "Shut up, you two!" Pop goes the first bullet. Alex walked to the door and announced, "That's one bullet out. Working on the second one." Sheila said, "Thanks for keeping us updated, Alex." Nick howled in pain again, while Coach barked, "Stop moving! Damn, where's a tranquilizer when you need it?!" Ellis chuckled, "You know, he seemed to stand still when Chris saw him in his drawers. Maybe I should…" Nick quickly barked, "I don't fucking think so, Ellis!" Alex returned to the guys and he commented, "You're so touchy about her. You like her and don't bother denying it. I know love when I see it." Ellis nodded, "Alex is the womanizer of the family. I've never seen him with the same girl twice. He's like a romance hound." Nick huffed, "We are not together. No way in Hell!" Alex smirked, "We'll see. Your actions depict your emotions." The second bullet popped out of Nick's ass. He howled again, cursing, "Pain! Mother-fucking pain!!" I couldn't hold my laughter any longer. I cackled so loud, it was louder than Ellis singing on the Midnight Rider's stage. Nick hissed, "Shut up, Chris!! I won the bet, bitch!" I replied between my cackling, "I know. It's too damn funny!" Alex came back to the door and declared, "Nick's ass is now lead free. He just needs to be patched up and he'll be ok." Ro replied, "As long as his screaming and her laughing don't attract the horde, we'll be fine out here."

The boys were able to fix up Nick's ass with alcohol and big gauze pads. After 10 minutes of Nick screaming "This fucking stings!" and of my hearty laughter at his pain, the boys walked out as if nothing happened. Nick was able to stand upright without pain or funny faces. I pulled out the five dollar bill I won this morning and slapped it into Nick's hand. "Thanks", he grumbled. "No problem", I grumbled back in a mocking tone. Sheila noticed something on the left side of Nick's neck. "Hey, Nick?" He responded, "Yeah, Sheila?" She grinned, "Is that a hickey on the left side of your neck?" He blushed as he popped the left side of his collar trying to conceal it. Ro teased, "So. Nicky's got a hickey!" She nudged me, hinting that I was the culprit. "It wasn't me! I swear to God!" Coach nodded and smirked, "Oh sure. Right. Now we know what happens in the safe rooms when we're all asleep." Nick defended, "A hooker gave me the hickey, not Chris! It'll go away…soon I hope." Ellis winked at him and nudged him playfully, "Keep telling yourself that." Nick sighed in defeat, "You guys are impossible sometimes." I grumbled, "For once, I agree with you."

Ellis saw the swamp and declared, "Time to get wet." Nick complained, "Urgh. This mud water is going to ruin my suit." Ro countered, "You mean the suit covered in zombie brains?" He defended, "Hey. Brains come out. Mud water doesn't. Don't ask me how I know that." I chuckled at his comment. "I sure won't, Godfather. Except that's one more thing to haunt me in my nightmares." Ellis stated, "That and the Hunter? Damn, you must have some messed-up nightmares. One time, my buddy, Keith had a nightmare so scary…" I quickly cut him off, "Ellis, you can tell your story later, k?" "Okay", he said in disappointment.

We continued blasting zombies through the swamp, until we came across a parachutter. "Damn. Now I feel like I crossed into 'Jurassic Park 3'", I quipped. Coach rolled his eyes and said, "More like a war movie gone wrong to me. You know paratroopers?" I nodded at his connection. We continued until Sheila got snagged by a Smoker. "Shit! Smoker's got me!!" Ellis grabbed a chainsaw and charged at the towering zombie. "Let her go, you sumbitch!!" He fired up the chainsaw and laughed menacingly at the Smoker. He went all "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" on it. He sliced the tongue off first, then its leg, causing it to trip. For the final blow, Ellis swung the chainsaw over his head and brought it down on its head, cutting his body vertically. I whistled and commented, "Damn, Leatherface. Rescue your girl, so we can get moving." Ellis blushed as he helped Sheila to her feet. "She's not my girl, Chris." I grinned evilly, "Then why are you blushing like crazy?" Nick hit my side with the butt of his Assault Rifle, stating, "Leave him alone. No wonder they tease you." I growled, "Newsflash, Nick. They tease you too! Shut up." Sheila said, "Thanks, Ellis. I owe you one." He blushed harder, "You don't owe me, Sheila. We're friends in this fight. We protect each other and fight together. Simple as that." She grinned and winked at him, making his knees shake. "Come on, Ellis. Let's get moving." He nodded and thought, "Once I get the feeling in my legs back!"

We came across a crashed plane, which shocked the hell out of us. "How the hell did a plane crash here?" Coach asked. Ro replied, "I don't know." Ellis added, "That'll explain our parachutter. Hey, Chris. You know you said you thought you were in 'Jurassic Park 3'?" I nodded at him, "Yeah." He continued, "I feel like I'm a survivor from 'Lost'." Nick quipped, "Let's hope there are more answers than questions at the end of this episode." Alex asked, "How do we get through this?" Nick suggested, "We can go around it." I sighed, "No. Look." I climbed into the broken hull and pointed at the emergency hatch. "That's the answer to your question, Alex. We'll open this hatch and shoot like hell. The alarm will attract the horde." Coach asked, "How do you know this?" I turned to him and replied, "Let's just say this isn't my first time activating the emergency hatch on an airplane." Sheila aligned herself at the hatch and readied her sniper. "Open it, Chris." I nodded and pulled the handle up, causing the hatch to launch forward onto the wing. "Go, go, go!" I shouted over the alarm as I leaped onto the wing and ran to the edge of it. Ro, Alex, and Coach followed me, while Nick and Ellis stayed with Sheila to act as protection. The horde swarmed from all directions, cutting off all possible escape routes. "Let the blood fly!" Ro roared as the onslaught began.

After we destroyed the whole horde, I went "tooth hunting" while everyone else regrouped. Nick healed Sheila, saying, "I was saving this for me, but what the hell." "Thanks, Nick", she replied as she reloaded her sniper. Ro saw Ellis clench his fists at the scene. Coach asked, "Where did Chris go, y'all?" I was approaching Coach from behind, but I coughed. My cough startled him, causing him to swing his axe behind him. I yelped as I jumped away and slid off the wing and into the shallow swamp water. Coach looked down and called, "Sorry, Chris! Are you k, girl?" I stood up and called back, "I'm fine. It's ok, Coach. That axe missed me by an inch." I was soaked in swamp water, but it did help me stay cool in the heat. Well, at least it doesn't smell too bad. A little bloody, but nothing too retching. I stuffed all the Hunter teeth into my pocket and climbed back onto the wing. Ro saw how soaked I was and she snickered, "Decided to take a dip, Chris?" I mocked, "Ha ha. My sides are splitting. I needed to cool down." Ro whispered in my ear, "I think Ellis needs to cool down as well. I think he's the jealous type." She pointed to him, whose hands were shaking fists. I nodded, "I think you're right, but I'm not going to worry about right now. Let's go."

As we walked deeper into the zombie-infested swamp, the water got deeper and deeper. Ellis stayed close to Sheila, eyeing Nick at a distance. I rolled my eyes at the native redneck. Nick would never be interested in Sheila and everyone knows that. Maybe not Alex, because he's the rookie of the group. Come to think of it, my one-man army grew bigger. I was alone for a while, until I rescued Sheila from a witch. Then we saved Nick, Ellis, Coach, and Ro at the Motel 6 a couple nights ago. And when the helicopter crashed, Alex tagged along. Seven survivors with one goal: survive the fucking zombie apocalypse!

The water was up to my bra line, so I had to hold my AK over my head. I chuckled at myself, "I feel like a soldier in 'Nam. All that's missing is the airstrike." Coach said, "Don't call it on us please. We want to get out of this swamp in one piece, not scattered in pieces in it." I laughed, "Ok, Coach." We came across a house that's partially underwater. Nick asked, "Did they actually build this house underwater?" "Someone should've fire the construction crew", I commented. We heard Alex scream, "Fatty in front of Nick!" As soon as Nick faced forward, a Boomer barfed on him. "I'm blind!" he shouted. I shot the Boomer and grabbed his shoulder, "I'm here, Nick. Stand back-to-back with me and use your axe!" He leaned against my back and grabbed his axe. "I trust you, Chris. Don't let me down!" I replied as I pulled out my Magnum, "I won't. Hit any silhouette that rushes at you!" He nodded and we stood our ground against the waves of zombies attracted to Nick, thanks to the Boomer bile.

Once the onslaught ended, Nick wiped the rest of the bile away from his eyes. "Yuck! I hate Boomers!" he growled. "Do you hate snakes more than Boomers?" I asked in good humor. He scoffed lightly and said, "Boomers are #1 on my hate list. Snakes just startle me." I nodded as I put my Magnum away, "That makes sense. Come on. Let's get to higher ground before we become raisons." He chuckled and followed me out of the flooded house.

We met up with the others, who failed to remember our Boomer problem. "What the hell, guys?! Why did you leave us for dead?!" I barked. Sheila replied, "Relax, Chris. Ellis got snagged by a Smoker and he startled a witch around the same time Nick got puked on. I knew you would protect Nick, so everyone else fought off the witch." Nick and I said in unison, "Ohhh." We walked onto the road, which led to a town with a huge plantation in the middle. Ellis shouted, "Safe room dead ahead guys!" We all ran towards the safe room, but a Hunter pounced me. I yelped as we tumbled down the slope into the water again. Realizing with that Hunter on top of me, I can drown. So I rolled with the hill and came out on top of it instead of being on the bottom. The submerged Hunter thrashed violently, trying to attack me, but I held its arms still as much as I could. Every second its thrashing grew more and more vicious, until it stopped thrashing all together. I stood up and watched its body float to the surface. I harvested its tooth and sprinted towards the safe room.

Alex closed the door as I ran inside. He shouted, "What happened?! You were behind us and in a flash, you were gone!" I panted, "I was attacked by another Hunter. I had to drown it but I claimed its tooth. That's…seven new teeth for my collection." This safe room was an abandoned house. I yawned as I scanned my surroundings, "We should rest here for a while. Take a break." Everyone agreed with me. Ro wondered into the kitchen and found lots of bottled water, a few pans, disposable plates and silverware, and few cans of Spaghetti Os. "Hey, Chris? Do you have a can opener on your knife?" I replied, "Yeah. You need it?" She nodded, "Yeah, if you want to eat, I do!" I chuckled as I pulled it out and handed it to her. She used the can opener end to open to slide open the lids of the cans. Once she opened about five cans, she handed to knife back to me. As soon as the knife landed in my hand, my hips began cramping. "Oh shit! Cramps!" I grumbled to myself. Luckily, this safe room has an inside toilet. I ran into the bathroom and got cleaned up. If you know what I mean.

After my bathroom break, I walked out and began working on my Hunter teeth. I sat in a shady corner and untied my necklace. Screwing holes in the roots of each tooth, I was able to lace my prizes onto the necklace. I grinned in delight as I tied my necklace back around my neck. Looking if no one was watching me, I untied my bandana and rung it of all the water it absorbed. I softly touched my forehead and had a flashback of that day of sorrow. It was the day my family perished and the day I vowed revenge on all Special Infected. Especially Hunters. My eyes grew watery at the memory, so I quickly wrapped the bandana around my scar and sighed. Only Sheila knows the story. Everyone else is left in the dark when it comes to my past. Maybe I'll tell them…soon.

Coach called to me, "Come on, Chris! Join our little zombie team! Don't go solo, girl!" I slightly grinned and joined them at the table. I sat next to Nick and Sheila. Coach, Ellis and Alex were on the other side of the table. Ro was cooking up our dinner. Sheila asked me, "Do you still have your poker cards?" Nick's eyes immediately looked at me with a spark of interest. I scoffed, "Of course!" I pulled out my "lucky" poker deck out of my right back pocket. I said in a smooth gangster-like voice, "About bout a friendly game of cards? To pass the time, boys?" Ellis nodded his head and Alex raised his hand, "I'm in!" Nick grinned, "Deal me in, Chris!" Sheila said, "I'm feeling lucky today. Sure, I'll play." Coach finally replied, "Fine with me. Chris and Nick, no cheating, you two!" I crossed my heart in a mocking fashion and said, "Conartist's honor." Nick scoffed at me, "We have no honor!" Coach rolled his eyes and repeated, "No cheating!" We both nodded. Alex grinned evilly as he said, "What about strip poker?" I immediately shouted, "No! No strip poker! The one game I refuse to play!" Sheila begged, "Oh come on, Chris! We're not in Vegas and you can die tomorrow for all we know." Nick muttered under his breath, "Jeez, I hope not." His comment caught my ear, since I was sitting right next to him. I sighed heavily, "Alright. I'll play strip poker. Any objections?" I waited for a few seconds and saw no one raise their hand to object. I pulled my deck out of the box and began shuffling, grumbled, "I wish we were playing with more girls than just me and Sheila. This is a dog's game."

Thank God my deck was rigged. I was winning half the time and the most dressed compared to everyone else. I had to remove my socks, sneakers, and my jacket. Ellis and Alex were the closest to going completely naked. Ellis still had his Harley Davidson boxers on, while Alex still had socks on. We learned that he goes commando, so everyone refused to look under the table. "Why commando?" Sheila asked Alex. He grinned slyly, "It's for my lady friends." I turned to Nick and told him, "I expected you would be the player in this team, but I'm wrong." He huffed offended, "Thanks, Chris." Nick was bare-chested and shoe-less. Every time, I dealt the cards to Nick, I blushed for some reason. The scratches from last night weren't bleeding anymore, so he decided to take the bandages off. Coach was shirt-less, but he also wore an undershirt. He lost enough rounds to remove both shirts. Sheila was also shirt-less, exposing her bra to the four male zombie slayers. Ellis had his eyes glued to her chest; he couldn't take his eyes off her. I laughed at Ellis, "This game separates the dogs from the men." He blushed fiercely. Nick and Alex joined my laughing, but both men earned slaps to the head from Coach. Ro was watching in amusement while she cooked the Spaghetti Os. Once they were done, she called, "Alright, you wanna-be strippers. Grab some grub!" Ellis shot from his chair to Ro first, then followed by me. Before Alex stood up, Nick quickly said, "Pants first, Alex!" Sad to say, Alex was the last in line for the food. I never thought Spaghetti Os tasted so good.

Ellis asked me after the game, "Is your deck fixed or something? I was one loss away from going Full Monty!" I grinned evilly, "Yes. The deck is fixed. 5 Aces and 5 Kings, my dear Ellis!" He barked at me, "No wonder I kept losing! You cheated!" I raised my finger calmly, "I didn't cheat. My deck was fixed before this game was even thought of." He growled as he slipped his pants back on, "I hate you right now." I chuckled, "I know."

Everyone was putting their clothes back on, but I decided to let my jacket dry out a little. I had an amusing time playing my first game of strip poker, even though Nick's sexy chest made me blush like crazy. Wait…was I thinking "sexy"?! I shivered at the thought of Nick being sexy. Time to change the subject!

I spoke out loud, "Hey guys. Name one random thing about yourselves." Alex went first, "I used to play basketball when I was a tyke. Not I hate it." Ellis said, "I can't stand double ditch jump rope. I'm not fast enough to clear both ropes at once." Ro told us, "When I turned 15, I took every Barbie I ever owned and sawed their heads off. No more Barbies!" I laughed, "Hell ya!" She grinned at me and gave me a high-five. Coach said, "Silver fish creep me out. I hate those little buggy houdinis!" Sheila chuckled, "I know, right? I don't believe in the Tooth Fairy or Santa, but I do believe in Freddy Krueger." Nick asked, "Isn't he the burnt guy with the striped sweater, razor glove and kills you in your nightmares?" She nodded. Ellis chuckled and grumbled in his best Freddy voice, "Welcome to my world, bitch!" Sheila playfully hit him, while everyone laughed. Nick said, "I suck at playing pool. I love playing pool, but my gaming skills suck. I can't gamble on a pool table, because I will always lose." I chuckled, "Now I know I can win at pool now. Anyway, I have two tattoos. One is on my right hand and the other is on my left shoulder blade." Ro asked, "Can we see them?" I pulled off my right biker glove and showed them. "You can see this one, but not the other." It was a red and blue colored star. It looks like this:

Everyone except Sheila looked at it. Alex asked, "Why a red and blue star, Chris?" I answered, "The red represent the fiery side of me. The blue represent the mellow side of me. The star is in my last name, Starly." Alex quickly called to everyone, "Tell your last names." I sighed, "I'm a Starly." Sheila said, "Spyri and damn proud." Coach said, "My last name is Calloway." Ro said, "Mine is Lucason." Nick declared, "My last name is Rowker." Alex and Ellis spoke in unison, "We're Buckers." Everyone said, "We know!"

Alex grew bored after that, so he decided to go exploring around the safe room. He noticed stairs behind where Nick is sitting, so he walked behind him and went up into the increasing darkness. In fact, it got so dark, he had to pull out his pistol in order to use the flashlight. "Damn, these people fought back." He walked into what looked like a bedroom and searched it for anything useful. On the bed, there was a duffle full of items. He just peeked inside and immediately liked the contents inside. Alex grabbed the duffle and ran down stairs.

"Guys! Look at what I found!!" he shouted to us. Ellis and Ro looked up at him right away. Sheila was humming to my IPod she "borrowed", Nick was looking outside the safe room door, Coach was finishing off the rest of the Spaghetti Os, and I was taking a small nap. Ellis leaped out of his seat and walked towards his little brother. However, he tripped over my out-stretched leg, causing him to yelp as he plowed into the floor. I grunted as a response and turned over. Ro asked Ellis, who gained assistance from Sheila, "Are you ok, Ellis?" He nodded, "Yeah. I'm ok. Hey, Chris? Can you hear me?" I groaned in response, "Is the house on fire?" "No." "Is anyone dead or dying?" "No." Then I growled, "Then let me sleep, Cindy! Christ!"

Everyone got confused, especially Ellis. "Who's Cindy?" he asked Sheila. She answered, "One of her sisters." Nick cocked his head to the side and commented, "She has a family?" Realizing this was a personal topic, she told Nick, "Maybe you should ask her. Maybe she'll open up to you." He scoffed, "Pfff. Fat chance."

Coach barked into my ear like a military sergeant. "Wake up, Chris!!" I yelped in surprise as I sprang to my feet. "Jesus!! Where are the hostiles, Sarge!?" I growled sarcastically. Coach replied, "They're outside. But first, Alex has something to show us." All eyes are now on the rookie. He held up the duffle bag and placed it in the middle of the safe room. He opened it and removed all of the contents. There were clothes inside, but they were too raggy or too small to wear, so they'll be used as cleaning rags or temporary bandages. This duffle bag is like an Easter basket for zombie slayers: pain pills, adrenaline shots, frag ammo, incendiary ammo, laser sights, two Magnums, a Grenade Launcher, Combat Shotgun, Auto Shotgun, M60 (lol! JK!), two Assault Rifles, and an Auto Sniper Rifle. Sheila gasped at the sight of the powerful firearm. Alex knew she wanted it, so he picked it up and handed it to her. She cried in happiness, "I love you, Alex! Thanks!" He chuckled lightly, "You're welcome, Sheila." Ellis growled softly at Sheila's comment. I lightly hit him to restrain his jealousy.

Nick deployed the frag rounds, giving everyone a chance for some extra fire power. "Sweet", I said as I loaded my AK with frag ammo. Ro collected any spare cans of Spaghetti Os and bottled water and opened the bag wider. "Hey! Guys, there's a flare gun in here!" She pulled it out of the bag and showed everyone. Coach took it and opened the barrel. All six chambers were loaded. "It's fully loaded. We'll use this for emergencies only." We all nodded, agreeing to Coach's idea. We placed the flare gun back into the bag, along with the canned food, water, and a few old shirts, leaving everything else behind. Alex picked up the Auto Shotgun in order to replace his used Grenade Launcher. Sheila pulled out a can of bug spray out of one of the side pockets. "Thank you, God!" I shouted happily. She sprayed all of us with the spray until the can was empty. Since Alex found the bag of treasures, he was in charge of it…for now.

"Is everyone ready?" Ellis asked as we suited up for another zombie run. I grabbed my dry jacket and a stray machete, stating, "I'm good to go!" Sheila spoke, "I'm set." Nick replied, "I'm ready!" Ro said, "I'm ready to kill!" Alex jumped up and down with excitement, "Hell ya!" Coach replied, "Ready to go!" Ellis grinned as he opened the door and walked into the run-down town.

Our frag rounds made very short work of the zombies. I decided to save my ammo and used my machete instead. All seven of us fought our way into an old house, which had a back door to make us advance forward. Sheila grinned as she poked her new weapon outside the back window, looking for targets to snipe. She's on something we call a "sniper high", which gives her a trigger-happy attitude and a creepy smile of insanity. She nailed several zombies many yards away, stealing all of our future kills. Alex groaned, "Come on. Leave some for us to kill." I just shook my head, thinking, "Fat chance. She needs to waste her sniper high."

She destroyed every common zombie in our path. She blew into the smoking barrel, like Clint Eastwood or John Wayne. I don't know my cowboys. Sorry. She beckoned us to advance down the gut-and-blood littered road. Ellis stared at her as if he was staring at a goddess. Nick waved his hand in front of the redneck's face, asking, "Hey, Ellis? Are you in there?" Coach slapped Ellis on the back, causing him to finally snap out of it. "Damn", he replied dazed, "I was in paradise for about 15 minutes." Ro corrected, "It was only 30 seconds, Ellis." He countered, "It felt much longer than that."

As we trekked down the path, Sheila had a random thought. "Hey, Chris. Let's play 'I Spy'." I stopped abruptly and asked, "Why?" She replied, "Because I killed every common zombie within 100 yards and I'm bored." I sighed, "Fine. I'll start. I spy with my little eye, something that begins with 's'." "Smoker", she answered. "Yep", I answered as I shot it with my Magnum. "Ok. I spy with my little eye something that is white." I looked around for something white, but the only thing that was white was Nick's suit. I sighed, "Nick?" She replied, "Right! Your turn!" I rolled my eyes and said, "I spy something that is pale and perverted." She asked, "A Jockey?" I nodded as I nailed the Jockey in the face several feet away. "I'm up. I spy something that falls under the definition of 'grifter'." I groaned, "Nick?" "Si!" I sighed, "I spy an ugly bitch." She shouted, "It's a Spitter!" I nodded as I killed it from afar, "Yeah it is." "Ok. I spy…" I quickly interrupted, "If you spy 'Nick' one more time, I'll maim you with my bare hands." She only giggled as she continued, "…something that has brown hair, a gruff attitude and a hickey on the left side of the neck." I growled, "I refuse to answer!" Nick blushed and face-palmed himself in embarrassment. Alex and Ellis began jumping up and down, flailing their arms in the air, like two hyper students in class, trying to answer the teacher's question. Sheila laughed and pointed at Ellis. He bursted out, "It's the one and only Nick!"

"I warned ya", I growled as I charged towards Sheila. She yelped and ran behind Nick for protection. She was using him as a human meat shield. I crashed into Nick and reached over his shoulder to try to grab Sheila. "I'm going to incap you! Come here!" She smirked as she watched in amusement. Nick was going very uncomfortable and surprisingly, hard. I jumped against his body, trying to give my arm more reach to Sheila, but it didn't work. Everyone except me and Sheila began to notice the growing bulge in Nick's pants. "Oh my!" Ro whispered. Ellis, Alex, and Coach tried their best not to laugh. I was completely obvious to his erection, until it brushed my leg. I froze and prayed, "Please be a gun barrel. Please be a gun barrel!" Nick bolted up the path like Roadrunner and back into the house.

Ellis and Alex bursted out laughing so hard, they began snorting and kneeling over. Ro hit Ellis and Coach, who wasn't laughing, dragged Alex up the path by his ear. Sheila was confused and I was petrified. "What happened?" Sheila asked. Ellis answered between snorts, "Nick got spooked by another snake! And Chris made it excited, if you know what I mean!" Sheila gasped in disgust. "You gave him a fully clothed lap dance?!" I bluntly said, "I don't want to talk about it."

Coach and Alex returned with the mortified Nick. His erection was gone, but not the redness of his face. When he spoke to me, he hardly looked at me. He was either looking at the ground or had his eyes closed. "I'm sorry about that", he whispered. I decided to erase that incident from my memory so I replied, "Sorry about what?" I expected him to reply with "Exactly", but instead, he said, "You know what I'm talking about!" I shook my head innocently and replied, "No I don't." He finally caught on to my little trick, so he relaxed. "Exactly."

We continued down the path and met more zombies. Sheila wanted to snipe them all, but we wouldn't let her. We dashed onto the elevated houses that were built above the water and marsh. Ro came across a bridge that will connect the gaps between the two houses. That's our ticket out of here! She pulled the lever and the bridge crashed down with a bang. "Let's go!" she shouted. We dashed across the bridge and didn't slow down until we got into the safe room. We rushed in inside and Ro closed the door behind us.

Panting, Ellis asked, "Is this how a celebrity feels while being chased?" Ro replied as she leaned against the door, "I don't know, sweetie. But I'm beat! Who else?" Everyone raised their hands in unison to Ro's question. Coach then said, "Alright y'all. 15 minute break." All of a sudden, a small growl echoed through the room. We stayed perfectly still and quiet. After 7 seconds, Ellis whispered, "Nick?" He whispered back, "Yeah?" Ellis snickered, "Is that your snake growling for attention?!" Nick sneered at him and flipped him off, while everyone else had to hold in a snicker. I blushed in embarrassment instead. "Poor Nick", I though.

In the darkest corner of the safe room, a Hunter was napping inside. I guess when we ran inside, he woke up. It pounced Ellis, startling him. Before it had a chance to slash him into shreds, Sheila bashed it in the head and I killed it with three frag rounds. Ellis was scared shitless when Sheila helped him up. "Are you ok?" He shakily nodded. I harvested the tooth and smiled at the speechless redneck, "Karma is a bitch." Nick smiled as well. As I walked past him, he said to me, "Badass move." I grinned at him, "Thanks, Nicko." He groaned at the nickname, "What did I say about petnames for me?" I replied as I worked on my necklace, "You said nothing, other than the fact you hate being called 'Nicky' or 'Nickolas'. 'Nicko' is still good. Besides, petnames is a term for couples. Last time I checked, we're not together in a romantic fashion." "We're not!" he growled. I calmly replied, "Good. Rest up. We'll need all the energy we can get to survive the next run."


	5. Chapter 5

******I would love to thank everyone who has reveiwed this story so far and I hope this chapter will be top notch. Sorry if the pics don't come out. That's a pain in the ass! My bad. Sorry this took so long to write. It's so long, that I had to post it as three parts on Quizilla. Anyway, enjoy! Oh, I don't own anything from the L4D2 universe, including Nick =(. I do own my OCs Chris, Sheila, and Alex.**

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

_**Chapter 5: Plantation Annihilation**_

"Alright. Is everyone ready?" Coach asked as we prepared ourselves.

"Lock and load, baby!" both Alex and Ellis spoke in unison.

Nick chuckled, "That's a 'yes' for the hick brothers."

I quipped as I tied my necklace around my neck, "I'm always ready to kick some zombie ass!"

Sheila cocked her gun, stating, "I need my 'sniper high'!"

Ellis replied, "Make sure you leave some zombies for us! We don't want another 'I Spy' game, do we, Nick?" Nick and Coach hit him in the head.

Ro quipped, "The more you hit him, the more brain cells are killed."

I grumbled, "I officially hate that game." Coach chuckled as he opened the door and we walked out.

As we filled zombies with lead, we came across stores that used to be slave quarters.

"Am I in one of my college history movies?" Sheila asked with a humorous tone over the scene.

"Damn. Where's my whip?" I quipped. Ro and Coach glared at me with an icy look on their faces. I looked back at them and said, "I'm kidding! I would never repeat history. You guys are my friends." That word rolled off my tongue. I just said "friends." I realize now that these survivors are my friends. Including Nick.

We savaged the stores, looking for anything useful. Alex found a defib unit, while Ro found more laser sights. As we all grabbed one, I looked out the window and called to Nick.

"Yeah, Chris? What's up?" he asked.

I said, "You see that plantation house?"

He cocked his eyebrow and smiled a gambler's smile. "Betting you five bucks that we'll find another survivor in there."

I scoffed, "You're on!" We shook on it and went back to the group.

We blasted into the front yard of the plantation house. "This ain't no mansion on 'Cribs', but I'd love to love here", Ro said about the scene, "Minus the zombies, of course."

Nick pointed to the scaffolding and said, "We can get it through there." We ran to the scaffolding and climbed up the ladder. At the top, Nick began shouting, "Hello! Anyone in there!"

Coach barked, "Nick, what the hell are you doin'?" He answered, "Maybe there's someone in there."

I grinned until I heard a raspy voice calling me, "Chris." I froze in place. My grip on my AK tightened. "Guys. Shut up and listen for a second", I told everyone. We stayed quiet and heard the voice again. "Chris."

Nick grinned, "I was right. I win."

I growled, "No. You're wrong. That's not a human's voice!"

Ro asked, "Then whose voice is it?"

I snarled into the darkness, "The Hunter's voice!" Sheila gasped. At that moment, she immediately knew my situation. I barked into the house, "Face me, you sick hooded bastard! Finish the fucking job you started!" A howl echoed through the house, alerting a horde. I leaped down the hole through the floor with my AK tight in my hands. Everyone followed me down the hole, with guns blazing everywhere.

I made my way onto a balcony. Nick was right behind me. "Will you relax?" he barked at me.

I jumped slightly over his voice. "Jesus, Nick! You startled me! Where is that fucker?"

He grabbed my shoulders and spun my around to face him. "Who cares about the Hunter! We need to stick together! Running off to feed your vengeance isn't team work!"

I snarled, "I care! It's that Hunter that gave me this!" I pointed to my forehead, which was still concealed by my bandana.

He cocked his eyebrow, stating, "It gave you a bandana?"

"No, you dipshit! Grrrr. Never mind!" Sheila caught up with us and almost snickered at the sight. I lowered my AK's barrel onto his groin and growled, "If you want your balls as is, you have two seconds to let go of me." He heeded my warning and let go of my shoulders. I took the barrel away from his crotch to remove the threat.

Sheila shook her head and muttered, "One day, you two will learn to trust each other." I rolled my eyes.

Nick saw a heavy machine gun overlooking the backyard. He whistled and said, "Girls, check this out."

We saw the turret and I beamed, "BFG! Sweet!"

Nick asked confused, "What's 'BFG', Sheila?"

She chuckled, "Big fucking gun. Fire away Chris!"

I grinned evilly, "With pleasure!" I grabbed the yolks to maneuver it and held my right thumb on the trigger on the right yolk. A stream of bullets shot out of the barrel and impaled all zombies full of lead. I cackled manically, "I love this fucking thing!" Realizing I wasn't going to give it up, Nick and Sheila left the balcony and met up with the others.

I destroyed every zombie I saw in the backyard, protecting my team from those flesh-eaters. Whenever I was attacked by zombies from behind, I would kick them away or shoot them with my Magnum. They loved attacking my legs for some strange reason. About two minutes of inactivity, I was wondering what was going on.

Alex finally ran up to the stairs and looked up at me. "A boat is coming for us! Coach will release a flare to signal you!"

I shouted back, "Ok!" We heard the incoming horde boom through the air. I grinned as zombies began pouring out into the back yard. "Let the brains fly!" I bellowed.

Surprisingly, I killed only one Hunter during the whole scenario. It tried to ambush me, but I shot it the very last second. I was able to harvest its tooth when I healed. After that, I became trigger-happy and became killing every zombie in sight. The others were not too happy every time they saw a zombie, I would blow its head off a second later. Numerous times, Sheila shouted at me, "Kill stealer!" I would only cackle like a loon. The only time the turret was truly useful was against three out of four Tanks that attacked us. Thankfully, they didn't attack at the same time, but close enough to fear for our lives. One Tank is enough, but facing three in a row is madness. As soon as I heard a Tank, I stopped shooting petty zombies and open-fire on the steroid-induced monster.

After the third Tank died, I saw the flare fire into the sky in a red, fiery bullet of light. About two seconds later, I heard the fourth Tank roaring over my head. It jumped down to the ground like King Kong and tossed a concrete slab at the retreating survivors. "Hey, you big fucktard! Leave my friends alone!" I bellowed at the beast. It looked up at me and began to climb. "Shit!" I let go of the turret's yolks and picked up a Molotov. "I normally don't use these, but this is an emergency!" I said to myself. As soon as it reached me, I threw the flaming bottle at the Tank's head. It broke and engulfed the beast in deadly flames.

I shouted in victory, but it didn't last long. The dying Tank swung its fiery arm and knocked me off the balcony. I landed with a stomach sickening crunch, incapping me. "OOOWWWWW!" I screamed in agony.

Nick was the last one out the gate when he heard me scream. "Oh Jesus! Chris!" he shouted as he saw the zombies swarming me.

In horror, I shouted back to him, "Nick!"

Nick turned to Sheila and commanded, "Cover me Sheila. I'm going in!"

She looked at him as if he was me. "Go Chris…err…I mean Nick!" He shrugged off the name confusion and charged back into the battle zone.

I was shooting zombies with my Magnum, snarling, "Die you zombie bitches! Die!" Sadly, I was feeling weaker and weaker by the second. Everyone must be on the boat by now, so they must be floating away right now.

All of sudden Nick comes running up the path and began shooting all of the zombies swarming me. "Die you asshats!" he barked, "Get away from her!" I was so happy to see him. He's being my knight in white armor…wait! Urgh! No more of these stupid fantasies!

Once he killed all of the common zombies, he kneeled before me. "Are you ok?" he asked.

I shrugged, "I've had worse moments. Thanks Nick."

He chuckled, "Don't thank me just yet. I need to get you out of here first."

He grabbed my hand and hoisted me to my feet. Thank God I had no broken bones, but something was wrong with me. I tried to walk, but pain shot up my right leg causing me to howl and fall forward. Nick caught me before I fell into the blood-stained dirt and we both looked at my right leg. It was singed from Spitter acid and clawed by zombies on the balcony. I apparently landed onto a Spitter patch when I fell and my right leg took the blunt of it.

Nick hissed in sympathy, "Shit. That looks awful."

I cringed, "It feels worse."

Nick thought for a second and soothed, "Don't be alarmed."

I asked confused, "Alarmed about wha…!"

He grabbed a hold of my good leg and wrapped his right arm around my back.

"Jesus!" I barked in shock.

He grumbled under his breath, "I warned ya."

For support, I wrapped my arms around his neck and used my bad leg to hop up, giving him a better hold. As soon as he stood up right, I held a Jockey cackling nearby. It showed itself and eyed Nick's shoulders like a racing mount. I grabbed the collar of his blue shirt and swung my right arm down to his leg where his Magnum holster was. Within seconds of the pounce, I took aim and shot past Nick's shoulder, nailing the Jockey in the face. Nick looked behind him and whistled in amazement.

"Nice shot, sweetheart", he commented.

"Thanks", I replied with a slight blush to the "pet name".

He carried me bridal style through the blasted gate, while Sheila shot any zombies in Nick's way. We both heard a Hunter snarl and I quickly aimed Nick's Magnum behind his back.

He grunted, "Leave it. I need to get you to the boat."

I growled in defeat. I knew Nick was right. He's kind enough to be saving me, because I know as well as everyone else; he can leave me for dead. However, I'm beginning to sense a small pattern in his actions. He's pissed off at me one minute, but when I'm in trouble, he's there front and center. I shook the thoughts out of my head and slipped his Magnum back into the holster. He lightly smiled in victory and continued to the boat. Sadly, that snarl grew much louder and closer. I looked behind his shoulder and saw the Hunter crawling up the path. My eyes widened; it was him.

My grip on Nick's collar tightened, alerting him to my sudden rage. "What's going on?" he asked as he walked onto the dock that was partly submerged underwater.

I didn't answer him; instead I pulled a Molotov off his belt and threw it over Nick's head, into the Hunter's path.

"Shit!" he barked as he spun around, "What the hell?"

The Hunter saw the Molotov explode in front of him, causing him to stand up and yelp in fear. The fires spread around him, increasing his panic and sealing his retreat. The Hunter's form got engulfed in the fire, screeching in pain. He thrashed violently against the fire ring, desperate to break free. Finally, he was able to leap out of the fire pit and pounced away back into the gardens of the plantation house, burning like a camp fire weenie.

I grinned ear-to-ear as I watched the fiery Hunter leap away, whispering, "It's over. It's finally over!" Nick just rolled his eyes as he carried me to the boat, collecting Sheila on the way.

Coach and Alex hoisted me out of Nick's arms and pulled me onto the boat. Nick jumped in and was closely tailed by Sheila.

A voice boomed over the boat's intercom, asking, "Is that everyone?"

Coach shouted, "Yes! Take us out of here, Virgil!" Two seconds after shouting, the boat began moving away from the submerged dock, while zombies ran out to catch us. Those who were stupid enough to get close enough to the boat, they sank into the dark, watery abyss. As we got a safe distance from the plantation ground, we all sighed with relief and exhaustion. No more swamps. We're safe…for now.

Nick began to pant due to his aching muscles. I crawled over to his side and said, "Hey." He turned his head, but once again, we were a little too close to each other. We recoiled back, blushing like crazy. "Nick thanks for saving my life…again."

He shrugged sheepishly, "It was nothing. We couldn't leave you there."

I nodded and then grinned, "Pay up!"

He looked up in shock, "What? What for!"

I explained, "Our little bet about being more survivors in the plantation house. You lose. Pay up, Niccolio! "

He growled, "Fuuuuck!" as he dug through his pockets and pulled out the five dollar bill, slapping it into my hand.

I quipped, "The more we bet, the less this bill will be!" I noticed Nick and I have been betting over the same five dollar bill since Day 1. It's torn, crumpled, and losing its color. If we keep it up, Nick and I will be betting over a useless and value-less piece of paper.

Ro looked down on my leg and ushered Ellis to go get a med kit. "Damn girl! How did your leg get messed up that bad?"

I looked at my leg and shrugged, "I don't know. I guess Spitter acid and zombie scratches equal massive pain." Almost on cue, the pain shot up my leg again, causing me to grip my leg in hissing agony.

Alex stated, "You need to patch that up before it gets worse. Where's Ellis with that med kit?"

Thankfully, Ellis came running with a med kit in his bloody hands. He kneeled before me and patted my shoulder, "Don't worry, Chris. I'll patch you back up."

I grunted, "Thanks, Ellis."

Coach commanded, "Nick, hold her leg still. I have a feeling it's going to hurt and a stray kick can hit someone." Nick nodded and grabbed a hold of my ankle. I knew it wasn't a move, but I was going to make Nick blush.

"Take it easy, Sparky! Control yourself, Niccolio!" I barked at the conartist. He blushed like I knew he would. This is my new favorite hobby: making Nick blush. Alex and Ellis did their best to hold in snickers, increasing the redness in Nick's cheeks.

"Shut up!" he barked at the hicks brothers.

Coach snapped at them, "Enough, you two! Grow up!" He turned to me and growled, "And you better stop embarrassing Nick! He's following the orders I gave him! Quit teasing him!"

I grumbled, "Yes, Coach."

Ellis cleared his throat and unzipped the med kit. "Ok, Chris. Prepare yourself. Nick, roll up her pant leg." Nick blushed again, but obeyed regardless. In my head, I knew Ellis chose Nick to do that so he can blush. I like the way he thinks…except when it involves me. I did my best to hold my tongue as I watched Nick gingerly roll my right pant leg up to my knee. Ro and Sheila watched for any reactions that I might give them. His fingertips brushed the bare skin of my leg, causing the skin to tremble. I blushed slightly. Ro and Sheila grinned a little.

"Sorry", Nick spoke in a husky voice.

"It's k", I replied. I knew it was an accident and that it wasn't foreplay. However, I hoped it won't happen again.

My injury looked worse than we thought. Claw marks were oozing green, thanks to the acid. Blood caked the skin around the wound. Plus, dirt was visible in the scratches and swamp water soaked into them, thanks to my pants. Both factors enhanced the pain. Everyone gasped and hissed over the horrible sight before them.

I asked, "How bad is it? I can't see from this angle."

Sheila replied, "Image a slap fight with a bleeding Alien with wet and dirty claws."

I hissed at the description. "Damn, that's pretty bad! Patch me up!"

Elis and Nick blinked and returned to their work. Ellis poured rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball and began cleaning the scratches. I hissed and screeched in pain. I began clawing the deck boards, but it wasn't enough to take my mind off the flaming agony. I needed to squeeze something to ease my pain.

"Nick?" I called to him.

He looked up with pity and replied, "Yeah?"

"Give me your hand."

He was confused at first, but seeing me clawing the boards made him realize why I needed his hand. He nodded his head to my request and offered his right hand while his left remained holding my leg down. I grabbed it and squeezed it tight. Nick was surprised on how strong I was so in order to balance the power, he squeezed back.

After a few minutes of intense pain, I then heard Ellis say, "Can I borrow your knife, Chris?"

Despite the fact I knew what he was planning and the fact it was going to hurt like hell, I agreed to let him use it. I ushered Sheila to my side and said, "It's in my left back pocket."

She nodded and reached into the instructed pocket. She pulled the knife out, but sadly, my wallet came out with it. Nick eyed it with greedy interest.

Ellis asked, "Nick is it possible that you have a lighter on ya?" Nick was snapped out of his gambling thoughts and nodded at Ellis. He pulled out a square lighter with a dollar sign on it and gave it to Ellis.

I reached to grab my wallet, but by now Ellis has heated up my knife with Nick's lighter. As soon as the hot blade made contact with my open skin, I wailed in pain and nearly crushed Nick's hand in the process.

"Jesus!" he squealed, "Are you in labor! You're got a nasty death grip on my hand!" The pain was close to my breaking point of tears, but I refused to cry, no matter how hard it was. Sheila knows me too well; she knows that I believe crying is a sign of weakness. She just sighed as she watched me suffer through the intense pain of the healing process.

Ro picked up my wallet and a small worn-out picture floated out, landing beside Nick. Curious, he picked it up with his uncrushed hand and looked at it. It was a picture of a beautiful 18-year-old girl with long, straight blonde hair, slim figure, piercing hazel eyes, and a gentle smile. She was wearing a long, form-fitting black dress with red trim. Nick didn't bother looking at the boy behind her in the photo; his eyes were glued to her. She looked like an angel to the conman.

He shouted out, "Holy fuck! She's hot!"

Ellis, who was now wrapping my leg in gauze, said, "Let me see, Nick!" He just shook his head, not taking his acid green eyes off the picture. He began to feel hard again, causing him to blush, since he was so close to my back.

Ellis rolled my pants leg down and declared, "All done! You're as good as new, Chris!"

I let go of Nick's hand and replied, "Thanks, Ellis." Then I turned to Nick and snatched the photo out of his hand, snapping, "That's mine, you prick!"

Nick blinked and asked desperately, "Who's that! I need to know!"

I slightly blushed at his determination and said, "You may not like the results."

He shook his head and shouted, "How can I not? She's drop dead gorgeous! Is she dead?"

I shook my hand side to side and replied, "No and yes." He just cocked his eyebrow in confusion.

Sheila looked over my shoulder and scanned the picture. She chuckled, "That's Chris at her senior prom."

His jaw dropped and replied, "Bullshit!"

Ellis then grabbed the photo out of my hand and whistled, "Damn, Chris. Black is so your color. You look so pretty in this picture."

I blushed at his comment, "Thanks, Ellis."

Coach, Ro, and Alex swarmed all over the picture and commented on it. Ellis looked back at Nick, who was still speechless and getting hard. He howled with laughter. Nick grew red as he stood up and escaped to the bow of the boat, before Ellis can subtly announce his hard-on.

Ro gave back my wallet and Ellis returned my prom picture. I slipped the photo back into my wallet and slid my wallet back into my back pocket. I also asked for my knife back, which Ellis quickly returned. I sat up and patted my leg. The pain was hardly noticeable now, so I stood up, testing its limits. I began walking around in circles; some of the leftover pain resurfaced, but it wasn't as bad as before. Coach began running drills to test my leg just in case I sink to my knees suddenly in pain. I was treated like a football player, being barked at and pushing me to do better. Even though my leg passed all of his tests, I growled, "Shut up, Coach! I'm not your star quarterback! Tone it down a notch!" He nodded and let me rest.

Alex dropped the bag off his back and commanded, "Everyone, place your guns, med-kits, knick-knacks, whatever in the bag. Nick'll keep them safe and he'll be in charge of it when we reach dry land." Ro and Coach gathered up all of our gang's guns and stuff them in the gun bag. "Remember, y'all. Nick's in charge of the bag."

I noticed Nick wasn't among us, so I asked Ellis where he went. He grinned devilishly and replied, "I believe I saw he walk to the bow. He looked shocked, so why don't you go cheer him up."

I nodded and walked to the bow. He was looking down at the water below as he leaned over the bow. It felt like a Titanic moment, so I decided to break the ice by saying, "Hello, Nick." He turned his head and asked, "Is that a line from 'Titanic'?"

I chuckled, "Sort of. The line is 'Hello Jack', but it's close enough. Why are you up here?"

He looked back down at the water and replied, "I needed to be alone for a minute."

"Oh", I said as I began walking back to the stern.

Nick heard my retreating footsteps and quickly turned around. "Wait! Hold up!" I stopped and turned around. He continued, "I'm fine now. I just needed a minute of peace. You can stay if you want." I nodded in understanding and walked back to my original spot.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

I hesitated for second, but replied, "Sure. What?"

"Why are you so vicious towards Hunters?"

I sighed because I knew I couldn't dodge that question forever. Nick has the right to know. I replied, "It's a long story."

He shrugged, "We've got time."

I sighed again and said, "Fine. I was driving to Georgia when a Tank picked up my car and threw it. I passed out and was revived by a local named Mac. He dispatched two Hunters, but was killed by the third one. Since I was unarmed, I was scared stiff of the creature. He pounced me into the dirt, but didn't claw or bite me. He just 'stared' at me with his dark voids for eyes. Blood dripped off his teeth as he growled at me, as if he was trying to talk to me. I was paralyzed. He scratched my forehead with his index and middle claws, causing me to wail in massive pain. Then he said, 'This is just the beginning. We will meet again!' before leaping away. Those words haunt me to this very day."

Nick asked, "Is that why you wear that bandana? To cover the scar?"

I nodded, "Yes. It served as a temporary bandage, but when I patched it up for real, I couldn't get rid of it, and so I washed it out of the blood and used it as concealment. When I covered the wound, I vowed right then and there that I would kill that Hunter and any other Hunter that got in my way. Hopefully, that Molotov made short work of him. "

Nick was quiet for a minute, trying to absorb my story. Then he asked, "How can you tell the Hunters apart? They all look the same to me."

I answered, "Aside from the fact he could talk in a very raspy voice, he also has a wedge cut out of the hood near his left eye socket. Plus, my scar burns whenever I see him nearby. It's like a tracker."

He asked rather sheepishly, "Can I see the scar?"

I chuckled, "Don't push your luck, Nick. I don't trust you that far yet." Nick snapped his fingers in defeat as we walked back to the stern.

"Look who's back!" Ellis teased as he saw us walking back from the bow…together. Nick flipped him off as he sat down on the deck.

Ro barked at the older redneck, "Quit being such a prick to him! He doesn't tease you about Sheila!" Sheila giggled while Ellis turned beet red.

Nick leaned back and quipped, "Sweet justice. I knew I liked you, Ro. Well, not in that way."

I grunted in agreement, understanding that he was glad that someone, other than me, was defending him against the harsh pressures of Ellis's teasing. I unrolled my IPod headphones and began strolling for a good song to listen to.

Alex asked, "Do you have the Midnight Riders on there?"

I shook my head and replied, "Sorry. I don't." He gasped in shock. Ellis and I chuckled at his expression. "Alex is so your brother, Ellis. There's no doubt about it, my friend." Ellis nodded in pride.

The song I was listening to was "Scarface (Push it to the Limit)" by Paul Engemann. I sang along with the song, "Push it to the limit. Walk along the razor's edge. Don't look down. Just keep your head or you'll be finished." All four boys looked up with grins on their faces. "Open up the limit. Pass the point of no return. You've reached the top, but you still need to learn how to keep it!" Even Ro and Sheila looked up, beginning to recognize the song. "Hit the wheel and double the stakes. Throttle wide open like a bat out of hell. Crash the gates. Crash the gates! Going for the back of beyond. Nothing's going to stop ya. There's nothing that strong. So close now, you're nearly at the brink, so push it! Oooh yeah!" I took a small pause before continuing, "Welcome to the limit. Take it baby, one step more. The power game's still playing, so you better win it!" I began to mock a keyboard player by pretending to hit keys on one for the instrumental part of the song. "Push it to the limit. No one left to stand in your way. You might get careless, but you'll never be safe while you're still livin'!" After that, it loops until it fades.

Once the song was done, Ro and Sheila ripped off my headphones and the boys yelled in their best Cuban accents while aiming their guns at me, "Say hello to my little friend!" I leaned against the edge, not knowing to be scared or amused.

"Are you going to kill me or sell me some coke?" I joked. The boys chuckled at my connection.

Ellis asked, "Who has the best accent?"

I rubbed my chin for a second and finally grinned. "Undecided. I need a nap."

Alex groaned, "Oh come on! You're just covering the truth that you would choose Nick, because you really like him because he saved your life and that he thinks you were hot in that sexy black dress in your prom picture!" He began panting after his rant.

I calmly and smoothly looked up at the fuming brother and asked, "Are you finished?" He nodded. "Good. I need to catch some shut eye. See y'all in a few hours." With a click of my IPod power button, I fell asleep under my random and awesome music.

It was about three hours later when I began to stir out of my nap. Actually, it was Nick who stirred me out of my nap. "Chris? Chris? Wake up, sweetheart."

I groaned sleepily, "That's the third time you've called me 'sweetheart', Nick."

He smirked, "It's sad that you're counting."

I sat up and cracked my neck, knuckles and back. "It must mean something to you if you keep calling me that."

He blushed a little and covered it by barking, "It means nothing!"

I cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Did I step on a nerve?" I quickly dismissed it, because I'm not in the mood to piss off Nick. "Whatever. I don't feel like pissing you off, Nick."

"Then what do you feel like doing?" he asked with curiosity.

I grinned, "I feel like gambling."

Nick met my grin with his eyes glimming with interest, "Now that's what I like to hear. I knew I liked that gambling spirit in you."

"Thanks…I think", I replied.

"Anyway, what's the ante?" Nick asked as he cracked his knuckles.

I thought for a second and answered, "Material possessions only. Things that can be replaced after this hellhole blows over. However, only one item will be off-limits. Mine will be my IPod. What will yours be?"

He pulled out his lighter and tossed it to me. "My lucky lighter is mine."

I caught it and examined it for a second and asked, "What's so lucky about this lighter, if you don't mind me asking?"

Nick shrugged, "I don't mind. That lighter saved my ass one night when my gamble went wrong many years ago. I was 20 years old, I believe."

I nodded as I pulled out my IPod and placed both items on top of Alex's gun bag. "That makes sense. The only thing my IPod has ever done was relax me and helps keep my recent nightmares mild."

Nick chuckled, "Then why did you pounce me on the first night?"

I decided to tease him and reply, "Because I'm not supposed to cuddle on the first night. I was taught better than that!" Nick realized I was joking, but he blushed anyway. Hell, so did I.

Nick tucked his hands into his pants pockets and asked, "So…will it be several games of poker?"

I shook my head, "No. Remember that my deck is rigged?"

He smirked, "Oh I remember. Just like I remember you staring at me out of the corner of your eye."

I turned beet red and barked, "Oh shut up! I was trying to look into your hand!" He just rolled his eyes, knowing I was trying to cover my true motive during that game. "It'll be a bunch of random challenges."

He cocked his eyebrow, "Random challenges? Like what?"

I scratched my neck and answered dumbfounded, "I don't know exactly. Maybe a spitting contest or arm wrestling or something."

He scoffed, "I can beat you in a spitting contest easily."

I placed my hands on my hips and retorted, "Is it because I'm a woman, Nicko?"

He growled, "Don't call me 'Nicko'. I hate that."

I smirked and replied, "Fine, but I can spit farther than you."

"I'll bet you this ring if you win", Nick responded. He showed off the ring on his left index finger. It was 10-carat gold with blue details. The gem was a sapphire. It was very beautiful, despite the fact I was never a big ring person. The only other ring I have is my class ring from high school, but since I wear my biker gloves for protection, I had to take the ring off and now it's in my pants pocket, collecting lint.

I grinned at my prize-to-be and said, "You're on, Nick!"

He quickly raised his hand and ushered, "Slow down, Chris. If I win, that bandana is mine!" I hissed at the mere thought of revealing my scar, just because Nick won it in a contest. Well, now I have motivation to win. Finally, I nodded to my "rival" to the terms of our challenge.

We lined up side-by-side and placed two empty Spaghetti-O cans on the end of the stern. Nick's can had the label on it, while my can had the label torn off. I retrieved water from the gun bag and tossed a bottle to Nick so we can moisten our mouths. We began hawking after our drinks.

I asked with a mouth full of saliva, "You ready, Nick?" He nodded without answering. I started the countdown on my fingers, three…two…one…spit! We hawked those loogies at the same time, but only one hit the cans: my loogie hit my unlabeled can.

Nick wiped leftover spit off his chin and groaned in defeat, "Shhhiiiitttt."

I chuckled at him, "Never thought that a woman can out-spit a man?"

He growled as he wiggled the ring off his finger, "Don't rub it in." He struggled to get it off, but after pouring water on it, he was able to slide the stubborn ring off. He placed it in my hand and mumbled, "Take it. Just take it." I don't think the ring had any sentimental valve to him; he's just pissed that I beat him. The sun set gave a lovely glow to the ring, which made me smile.

"I promise I'll take good care of it, Nick", I told him as I slipped it into my pocket. "Since you lost this challenge, you get to choose the next one. Sounds fair?" Nick nodded as he pondered his mind for a challenge that he'll be good at, but I would suck at. He began humming as he thought to the tune of "Breath" and I began giggling for some odd reason. He stopped humming and cocked an eyebrow at me. I blushed and cleared my throat.

Finally, he declared, "I hope you have good upper body strength", then his tone changed to sound like a drill sergeant, "Cause you're going to drop and give me 20!" I gulped. Aw shit! Push-ups? Flashbacks of my high school gym class filled my head. I have always hated doing push-ups ever since Day 1. I can do about five and then get tired. I suck at them, but maybe Nick is bluffing. I looked at him square in the eye and tried to break him. He just grinned at my pathetic attempt to read his eyes. Sadly, the song "Poker Face" played in my head while I was glaring into his emeralds he has for eyes.

"Damn", I replied in defeat, "If I win, I get that chain around your neck."

He tugged on the chain and replied, "This old relic? Sure. I won this in an amateur poker game against my cousins. They said it belongs to my ancestors but I say that's a load of croc. I have no interest in it."

I scratched my head and said, "Well, if it's a family heirloom, then I don't want to take it…or win it in this case."

He shook his head, "Don't worry too much about it sweetheart. I can easily find another one at the nearest jewelry store. Simple as that." I shrugged my shoulders at his answer. I guess it's ok then. He grinned, "That bandana will be mine."

I growled, increasing my determination to win, "Bring it on!"

He smirked, realizing that I won't give my bandana away willingly. "Ok. First to 20 push-ups wins. Girlie push-ups don't count." I snapped my fingers in disappointment. Damn; they were my ticket to winning his challenge.

We hit the deck at the same time and began our push-ups. I'm surprised that I was able to make it past ten, but as soon as I hit 13, my arms began to hurt. I gritted my teeth and hissed at my decrease in speed. I looked over at Nick and he was going at a very sturdy pace, without breaking a sweat. "Damn it! How can he do that?" I barked in my head. Well, I guess he does have good upper body strength, because he did carry me out of the plantation backyard and to the boat as if I was his bride. Wait…bride? Why do these thoughts keep entering my head? Get out! Jesus. I pushed those thoughts out and pushed my arms to the limit, causing them to collapse under my weight. "Fuck…" I groaned into the deck boards.

Nick leaped to his feet as if it was nothing and smirked, "I win, Chris."

I tried to sit up, but my arms failed me. Nick lightly chuckled as he kneeled down and grabbed my right arm to help me up. I grumbled as I dusted myself off, "I hate you."

He just shrugged, "Join the club, sweetheart. A lot of people hate me. But like you said before, 'don't hate the player, hate the game.'" I gritted my teeth again, because I did say that to him. Damn you karma!

Since he did win the challenge, I won't refuse to give him his prize. I lowered my head and flipped my hood up to conceal my forehead. Nick only sighed as he shook his head, as if to say, "You're impossible sometimes." I slid the bandana off my head and offered it to Nick, whispering, "You won it fair and square. It's yours."

To my surprise, he didn't take it right away. Instead, he barked with fear, "Hunter!"

My head whipped up so fast, it forced the hood down as I darted my head around to find the creature. "Where?" I growled, determined to kill it.

However, I quickly learned that there was no Hunter. Nick lied. He grabbed a hold of my skull so he can hold me still for a second. I hissed at him, "You're an asshole!" He only grunted with acknowledgement as he gingerly brushed loose hair away with his thumb. His eyes widened at the sight before him: my hidden scar. It was a scratch; no doubt by the way it was positioned. It was two dark red-brown lines, but the top (index) line was slightly longer and bigger than the bottom (middle) line. It would look like this:

He stared at it and hissed in sympathy, "Jesus Christ. It must have hurt like hell. No wonder you wanted to hide it and no wonder you hate Hunters so much. If they gave me a scar like this, I'd be the Hunter hunter in this group." I had to chuckle at his comment. Even his humor made me feel a little better. But him holding my head like Predator doesn't help my mood. My eyes darted around, trying to avoid contact with his. Despite his Predator-like hold, he was very gentle. Plus, his voice was softer and sweeter than normal. As he examined my Hunter scar, my rage cooled dramatically and my gruffness towards the con man faded.

However, deep in my head, my con artist self, screamed, "What the fuck are you doing? You can't trust another con artist, especially a male one! Snap out of it, bitch!" I managed to clear my throat, snapping Nick out of his "inspection". He stepped back and blushed fiercely.

"Sorry for staring", he apologized as he finally took the bandana out of my hand.

"It's ok. Now you know what it looks like, so you don't have to bug me anymore. All that staring must have placed a mental image in your head." He chuckled in embarrassment. I continued, "Now I need to cover it with something else."

Nick chuckled and shrugged, "Then you should have won." I growled and flipped him off. He only grinned with amusement, knowing that I was just pissed off by his statement.

I brushed my bangs in front of the scar and flipped the hood back up, creating a shadow that helped conceal the scar. I flexed my arms, which didn't hurt so much anymore and announced, "The next challenge will be arm-wrestling."

Nick shook his head, grinning, "Do you want your arms broken?"

I scoffed, "I know I can take you! I know the secret. And besides", I decided to use one of my con artist tricks on Nick, "I know you wouldn't hurt me, Nick." I smiled and giggled like a school girl over a crush, making me look like I was a pretty and innocent face. Nick knew I was far from one, but he couldn't help looking away, blushing while trying to cover a growing smirk. "Too easy to make men fall", I thought in victory. I'm a very successful con artist thanks to my "innocent and pretty" act, because men think with the head below the belt, then the head on their shoulders. Apparently, Nick was no exception.

Once he got his hormones under control, he asked, "What secret? A secret that'll seduce me?"

I giggled, "No, but I won't tell you. If I win, you must provide me with something that'll cover my scar."

He finally sighed, getting back to his old self, "Fine. But if I win, I'll get your right biker glove." I flexed my right hand, remembering that that's the hand I have my star tattoo on. Then I shrugged, remembering that everyone has seen it already, so it wasn't a big deal. If everyone saw the tattoo on my back, now that's a different story.

"Deal", I replied.

We looked around, trying to find an elevated surface for an arm-wrestle. I wondered into the cabin, where everyone else was. Ro and Alex were snoozing on the window benches, Coach was reading a fishing magazine, Ellis was telling Sheila one of his stories about Keith being on a ship and how he almost fell overboard and drowned. Sheila was the first to see me. After Ellis's story, she stood up and approached me.

"Hey, Chris! What's up, my friend?"

"My gambling habits. That's what's up. I lost my bandana to Nick."

She evilly grinned at me, "Don't you mean you let him win?"

I growled, "I didn't let him win! It was push-ups! I can't do push-ups to save my life!"

Her grin grew bigger as she countered, "Then you'll need Nick to save you."

I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her out the cabin and onto the stern, where Nick was waiting. By the snarl on my face, he knew Sheila said something that pissed me off. I'm still on my "cycle" if you know what I mean.

He said, "If it was any irony, that hoodie and your attitude is making you look like a Hunter, Chris."

Sheila only laughed, "I pissed her off by saying you would save her if push-ups were going to kill her." Her comment earned a chuckle from Nick, but a scowl from me.

He said, "Do you know what she does as a con artist?" Sheila shook her head. Nick grinned and whispered close to her, "She tries to seduce her victims. I was one of them."

She gasped, followed by laughter. Nick joined in her laughter, leaving me to blush uncomfortably. I finally sighed and grumbled, "Get a room, you two." I walked back into the cabin, leaving the laughing hyenas on the stern. The inner con woman in me was putting a paper bag on her head. Damn, that was humiliating.

Ellis looked up and asked, "What's up, Chris? Do you have a nice nap?"

I nodded, remembering that I was among different company. "Yeah. Until Nick woke me up."

He asked, "Spooked you out of a good dream?"

I shook my head, "I hardly have good dreams anymore. They're all nightmares."

Ellis clicked his tongue and replied, "Well, that sucks. Don't you have your IPod to relax you?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but it doesn't have unlimited battery my friend. Sure, it's solar-charged but keeping it on all night will leave it drained all day. Not cool."

He nodded in understanding. Then he finally noticed that I was wearing a hood, covering my eyes and forehead. He asked in amusement, "What's with the hoodie, Hunter?"

I rolled my eyes and responded, "Nothing, Ellis. I'll explain later. I need to find a table or a spool or something that can be used for an arm-wrestling match."

Ellis's eyes lit up. "Arm-wrestling? Hell, I'm the champ in my old neighborhood, all thanks to the secret!"

I grinned, "You know the secret?"

He nodded, "Yep. Saw it on 'Manswers' and used it ever since!"

"Oh hell! That's where I saw it too!" I shouted with excitement.

He began snickering, "A woman? Watching 'Manswers'?"

I cocked my eyebrow, "And why not?"

He pondered my question for a second and shrugged, unable to give me a straight answer. "Wanta arm-wrestle me?"

I shook my head, "I'm saving my arm for my match with Nick."

He evilly grinned at me and before he could say anything, I barked, "Don't you dare piss me off or I'll shove you outside with Sheila and Nick!"

His grin disappeared immediately and he asked, "She's out there…with Nick…alone?"

I replied, "She's a big girl. She doesn't need a chaperone, Ellis."

He panicked as he flew out the door faster than the Flash. It took me a second to realize why he was so concerned or clingy; he's jealous of Nick being around Sheila. Apparently, he still wasn't over the plane scenario yet. I sighed as I looked around for a table inside the cabin. Shockingly, there was, but it was attached to the wall, so it can't go outside, so I guess I have to drag Nick's ass in here.

Coach looked up from the magazine he was reading and asked, "Did Ellis just rush out of here in pure jealously?"

I nodded, "You hit the nail on the head, Coach. I got to go 'protect' Nick before he's torn to shreds by Ellis, witch-style."

He chuckled, "A Hunter vs. a witch. That's a fight I want to see!"

I cackled as I walked back outside and approached the fusing Ellis. Thinking quick, I slapped the fin of his cap down on his eyes and grabbed Nick's arm, dragging him out of Ellis's line of sight. Sheila only giggled as I dragged Nick towards the cabin while Ellis tipped his cap back up. He sighed, realizing that he was alone with Sheila and Nick wasn't near. As soon as I shoved Nick into the cabin, I shouted at the jealous redneck, "You shouldn't be so jealous! She likes you too!"

I quickly retreated back into the cabin when I heard Sheila scream, "Stupid bitch! I'm going to kill you if the zombies don't!"

I opened the door slightly and barked back, "You couldn't kill me in Call of Duty 4!" Then I closed it, doing my best to conceal my snickering. Nick began to snicker too, while Coach just stared, wondering what was so funny.

I finally stood up, holding my side from my bottled-up laughter and walked over to the table. I pulled it down and beckoned Nick to it. He pulled up an old stool and sat down. "You actually saved my life for that arm-wrestling match?" he asked in a humorous tone. I nodded. He shook his head and mumbled, "You're impossible to figure out, Chris. You know that?"

I just shrugged and replied, "I consider that a compliment, Nicko." He just growled at me when I called him that…again.

We got into the position for the wrestle. He quipped, "Prepare to lose, twice in a row." He offered his hand to me. I scoffed at his comment as I grabbed his hand. Nick looked behind him and asked Coach, "Can you count down for us?"

He nodded, "Alright, children. 3…2…1…Go!"

As soon as he said "Go!" we began straining our arms to force the other down. Since my arm was still a tad bit shaky from the push-ups, I wasted no time in toying with Nick. I used the "secret" trick to gain the upper hand on him: pulling his arm towards my left corner, losing his momentum of force.

"What the-?" he gasped as I was able to slam his arm down on the table. Despite my victory, I used the remainder of my strength in my right arm in that fight, so now my arm is screaming in massive pain. It was almost as bad as my leg wound from earlier. My grip went limp in Nick's hand, which didn't let go right away.

"Do any of the med kits have hot/cold packs? I need one ASAP!" I barked in pain.

Nick asked with fear, "I didn't break your arm…did I?"

I shook my head, while trying to wedge my hand out of his grip, "No. But my arm is burning in agony. Remains me of the time I whacked my funny bone so hard, my whole right side was enflamed in unforgettable pain." I groaned as I placed my head on the table with my hand still trapped in Nick's grasp. "Nick, can you please let go of my hand? It hurts too much for romance."

Coach heard my muffled comment and boomed out laughing, while Nick blushed and let my hand slip out. My hand fell onto the table and a new shockwave of pain trailed up my arm, making me wince. "Sorry", Nick said.

"It's ok, Nick. The pain will go away…soon. Where's the fucking hot/cold pack?" I growled into the table. I felt Nick's presence walk away and about five seconds later, someone else sat in Nick's spot.

"Did ya win?" the voice asked. The accent gave it away.

"Yes, Ellis. I won. And my arm is suffering the toll of victory."

Sheila asked me, "Are you ok or did Nick break your arm?"

Nick's gruff voice barked at Sheila, "I didn't! Why would I? A handicapped zombie slayer is the first to be mincemeat. All of us…including Chris…need to be at the top of our game if we're going to survive." I felt his body loom over me and he spoke, "This may hurt."

Before I got a chance to react, he placed a hot/cold pack on my arm. It was freezing and it shot through my nerves like electricity. My head shot up and I hissed, "Shit! That's freezing!"

My hissing woke up Alex and Ro. As Alex rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he asked, "Morning, people. What did I miss?"

Ellis filled him in, "Nick and Chris are pitting each other in a series of challenges and betting on who wins. So far, there has been push-ups and arm-wrestling."

Nick added, "There was a spitting contest as well."

Ro had a look of disgust on her face, "Spitting? Dear God, did Nick win?"

He looked down in shame and shook his head, "Chris won."

Ro retched, "That's nasty! Girls should never spit!"

Alex asked, "Did you win doing push-ups, Nick?"

He looked up and nodded, "Yep. And I won her bandana as a prize."

Alex's eyes lit up and leaped towards me, pleading, "Can you remove your hood? We all know you have a scar on your forehead. Can we see it?"

I only mumbled, "Over my dead body. It's bad enough Nick went all Predator on me and saw it." Alex, however, didn't heed my threat. He grabbed my hood, but before he saw anything, my arm regained strength from the adrenaline and I grabbed his collar tightly. I brought him close to my face and I snarled, "No means no, you little shit! You dare defy me again and you'll wake up with no balls." My warning terrified him. Not just the fact he could lose his boys, but my appearance of a Hunter horrified him. He nodded rapidly and I shoved him down.

Nick gulped, "I think it's time you collect your prize, Chris, before you go ball hunting. Come with me." He led me outside back onto the stern, away from everybody. He sighed, "Use your knife to cut a strip of my shirt to replace your bandana." I took a deep breath, letting my anger cool down. I took my knife out, which made the con man uneasy.

I soothed his edginess, "Relax, Nick. I'm trained in using this knife for 15 years. I'm it's master."

He scoffed banteringly, "I'm surprised that you didn't give it a name."

I replied in the same bantering tone, "Maybe I should name it Stabby and you'll be his first victim."

He chuckled nervously, "I was kidding! I'll shut up now."

I pulled the dagger tip out and instructed, "Remove your jacket. It'll get in my way."

He nodded as he slid out of his once-white coat like a snake shedding its skin. Suddenly grinning, he tossed it to me and it landed on my head.

"Ahh! Nick! Come on, man! Are you serious?" I ranted as I scrambled the con artist's jacket off me. He let out a heartily laugh as he watched me scramble out from the coat's grasp on me. "It's alive! It likes me!" I rambled. Nick continued his laughter, even after I got it off me finally. "Now I'm going to smell like Axe. Mixed with blood. I'm going to smell like blood and Axe. Jesus! Did you bathe this suit in Axe, Nick? It's so strong; my eyes are watering."

He blushed as he continued his laughing fit, "I have to use a lot in order to get rid of the smell of rot and decay. Yuck."

"Where did you get the Axe, pray tell?"

"At the mall. Believe it or not, I think the bottle is still in the jacket pocket."

I grumbled, "I'm not going to bother looking. Once Ro and/or Sheila get a whiff of me, they're going to interrogate me as if I was witness to a crime. Oh joy."

Nick's laugh began to tone down into snickers, "Sucks for you!"

I huffed, "Shut up and stand still!" I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and started the cut at below the last button on his dress shirt. The knife began cutting his shirt clockwise. I almost cut him a few times, but thankfully, he warned me by yelping or shouting, "Damn! That's cold!" That's when I'd stop cutting and check his skin for any blood or marks that my knife could have made. Thankfully, there was none at all. After I reached the other end of the shirt, I tugged the strip free and wrapped it around my forehead. I asked Nick, "Is my scar showing?"

He shook his head, "Nope. It's covered."

I sighed with relief as I pushed my hood down. Extra slack from the strip hung loosely behind my head. It looked like a Ninja Turtle headband to be perfectly honest. "Blood and Axe. That's all I'm going to say."

Nick chuckled, "Now that strip can be used as an alibi for the smell."

I shrugged, "That's true, but it's not a 'get out of a female interrogation free card' either." He shrugged back, agreeing with my comment. I grinned, thinking, "Time for a new challenge." Then I asked out loud, "What's your next contest. Nick?"

He thought for a few seconds before answering, "Since you keep quoting 'Titanic', I wonder how well you can guess other movie quotes."

I chuckled evilly while rubbing my hands together, "Nick, I grew up on three things: gambling, Pepsi products, and movies. Prepare to lose that chain."

He shook his head and replied, "Well, prepare to lose that glove!"

_**Note: Going into a different style of format to avoid confusion, just for this contest. Answers are underlined.**_

Nick: 1st quote: "These aren't the droids you're looking for."

Chris: "Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope!" When I was a teen, I used to be the biggest Star Wars fan girl you'd ever meet.

Nick: Right. Well, now I know not to do any more Star Wars quotes.

Chris: 2nd quote: "Game over man! Game over!"

Nick: Ummm…damn…that's a tricky one. Oh wait! I got it! Aliens!

Chris: Good job. I thought I stumped you with that one. Your turn.

Nick: 3rd quote: "Time to nut up or shut up!"

Chris: Are you serious? Zombieland!

Nick: Right. It seems to fit this outbreak. Batter up, Chris.

Chris: 4th quote: "Welcome to Prime Time, bitch!"

Nick: Shit. I know this one! It's one of the 'Nightmare' movies. Fuck…it was the TV death in the asylum. So it's either 3 or 6…grrrr…#3?

Chris: What's it called?

Nick: Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors.

Chris: Right. You were close to losing, my friend.

Nick: Yeah, but I didn't.

Chris: Not yet.

Nick: 5th quote: "Don't move. It won't see us if we don't move."

Chris: Too easy. The first Jurassic Park.

Nick: Yep. Actually, I had a moment like that. When we saw the Tank for the first time, I said 'If we don't move, maybe it won't see us'. I was dead wrong, but it was worth the try.

Chris: 6th quote: "Is it an African or European swallow?"

Nick: That's funny. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Funny ass movie!

Chris: I know, right!

Nick: 7th quote: "You talking to me?"

Chris: Oh shit. I know Robert de Niro says that line. Fuck, I wish I saw more gangster movies! Christ! Ummm…Godfather?

Nick: Is that your final answer?

Chris: Yes. Godfather.

Nick: Nope! It's Taxi Driver.

Chris: Fuck…that was my second choice.

Nick: Right. Sure it was. You lose. Give me the glove.

_**End of quote contest.**_

I groaned as I pulled the right biker glove off and tossed it to Nick. He grinned as he slipped it on and flexed it. "Nice fit. Hey, now you can wear my ring you won earlier."

"Oh yeah", I brightened. I pulled it out of my pocket, as well as my class ring and slipped Nick's ring on my index finger and my class ring on my ring finger. I examined Nick's ring and actually smiled. I'll admit; it was very beautiful, despite my lack of beauty appealing to me. The blue features made it unique. As a bonus, blue is my favorite color. I sat down on the deck because I was tired of standing up; I saw Nick sit down as well. Realizing that I'm scanning the rings, I felt like a pimp. I shook the thought out of my head and called to Nick.

"Yeah?"

"The next challenge will be so simple, it's not even funny."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

I grinned, "A staring contest."

He scoffed, "Seriously? A staring contest? Wow. Ok. If I win, I get that dragon ear ring on your ear."

I rolled my eyes, "Because that's where an ear ring would be…on the ear. Do you have piercings?"

He pointed to his left ear, "Just one. Back in my rebellious years in high school."

I smirked, "I can image it. Nick the rebel. Livin' on the edge. Running from the law."

Nick laughed, "Sweetheart, some things never change!"

I laughed back, "That's the sixth time, Nick."

He cocked his eyebrow and countered, "You're still counting. That's still sad."

"Oh shut up. If I win, I'll be getting that chain."

He crawled over to me and sat in front of me. Since we knew the rules of a staring contest, we didn't need a demonstration or a tutorial. I counted, "3…2…1…stare!" We stared deep into each other's eyes, determined to win the game. As I bore into Nick's acid green eyes, my heart accelerated. My stomach began to flutter under his gaze. I loved how gentle his eyes looked when he isn't flipping out or killing zombies in a humorous or vicious fashion. It made me realize that under that hard shell of a man is a soft, kind, and funny guy. Wait…why am I still thinking of this? Am I falling for Nick? I better not, but I think I am.

Nick blinked and cursed, "Damn it!" His cussing snapped me out of my thoughts and focused on him. He rubbed his sore eyelids in exhaust and unclipped the chain from his neck and handed it to me. It wasn't just a chain; it was a pendant. It was King Richard symbol with three spades on the shield.

I asked, "Is this your family crest?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Apparently, my ancestor fought in the Third Crusade. I truly don't care, because I suck at History." I nodded as I tried to clip it on. Sadly, my nails were too long or broken to get a good grip on the clasps. Nick shook his head with amusement and said, "Let me help." I was hesitant for a second, but I nodded and Nick crawled behind me to clip the pendent around my neck. "Give it to me", he instructed. I obeyed and he pulled the clasps around my neck, as if he was going to choke me. He fastened the clasps and let the pendent fall onto the surface of my neck.

"Thanks", I said.

"You're welcome", he replied.

To break this awkward moment, I turned around to face him and said, "Alright! One more challenge and then we're done."

"Ok. It'll be bluffing. Since you showed me one of your 'skills', I'll show you one of mine. No one can read my poker face. We'll both say three things about ourselves and only one fact is false. We need to weed out the lie. Before we do anything, thought, do you want a drink? I can drink a river right now", he said.

"Yes please. Thanks, Nick", I answered.

He stood up and began walking towards the cabin, "No problem sweetheart."

I grumbled, "Seventh time." While Nick was gone, I began thinking of my lie and my two truths. I don't want to get too personal, which surprised me. Nick is normally a closed book, but now he's willing to say a few things about himself? Hmm. Maybe the butterflies in my stomach are in his as well. When I saw come back, he had two six-packs of beer in his hands. I beamed at the sight and shouted, "I love you, Nick! Bringer of beer!" He laughed heartily as he sat down nearby. He knew I was kidding; he believes I couldn't truly love him. He slid one of the six-packs to me and I pulled one of the cans out of the rings. "Sweet!" I exclaimed as I opened the can with a "pop" and began chugging the nerve-numbing beverage.

Nick chugged down his own can and afterwards, sighed with drunken relief. "It's been awhile since my last beer."

"Me too. I've been drinking water for the past few weeks. Once or twice, I was lucky enough to find a Pepsi, but I never found beer", I responded.

He nodded, "I know, right? Why don't you start bluffing?"

I began, "I love to write. I was inspired to be a con artist by a late con man named Xavier Powers." I saw Nick grin when I said that name. I continued, "I'm married."

Nick scoffed, "The last one is bullshit. You're not married."

I glared, "It's true. I'm married."

"To who?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not, sweetheart?"

"Eighth time. I'm afraid that if you found out, I would find him dead on the floor with Assault Rifle shells in his head. And you'd be the smooth criminal who did it."

"If you're married, then where's your wedding and engagement rings?"

"I lost my engagement ring in a poker game. As for my wedding ring, it's in my jewelry box in my apartment."

He smirked, "You're bluffing. If you were married, you wouldn't have tried to make a move on me."

"Since when did I make a move on you?" I barked.

He cackled at my blindness, "Every day. Pick one. My favorite has to be you constantly seeing my chest during strip poker. I'm a handsome man. I won't deny that fact."

I blushed fiercely, snarling, "You're not handsome, Nick! Who in their right mind would love you!"

"You after a few more beers", he teased.

I growled as I opened another can, "I still hate you. You're right. I'm single. Your turn, Nicko."

He wanted to snap at me, but decided against it. He began his string of facts, "I was born in Rhode Island. I loved my childhood. I'm legally divorced from my bitch of a wife."

I chuckled, "How many times were you divorced? You attract a lot of crying witches."

He growled, "Only one ex-wife. That's all."

I leaned back on the stern's rim and countered, "Hey, relax. I'm only playing with ya. Damn, man." I then began to think of the false fact. Since he's a big city-slacker, he couldn't be brought up in a small state like Rhode Island. However, I know nothing of his childhood, so it's now a shot in the dark on those two choices. "You're bluffing about being from Rhode Island."

He grinned, "Nope! I was born in Rhode Island and stayed there until I was 19 years old."

I growled, "Prove it!"

He put down his third beer can and fished inside his pants pockets for his wallet. Once it was in his grasp, he opened it up, showing me his old driver's license. Yep. He was from Rhode Island all right. The license expired seven years ago. His "mug-shot" of a photo was him with a black pony tail, a small beard, and a slimmer face. His eyes remained the same and so did his smile. I sighed with defeat. He won; damn it!

Just as he closed the wallet, the force of the flaps forced something out. I knew immediately by just the letters on it: TROJAN. He snatched the chuck of plastic out of the air like a ninja master and his face lit up like a police siren. He grumbled, "Fuck. You didn't see anything!"

I just quipped, "See what?"

He sighed, "Exactly."

I unclipped my dragon ear ring that he wanted as a prize from our last challenge and gave it to him after his wallet retreated back into his pocket. He examined it with awe. It looks like this:

I crawled over to him, because I knew he wasn't going to put that on by himself, especially without a mirror. "Stay still", I instructed as I took the ear ring into my hand. He nodded and waited patiently. I let the jewel go through the hole in his ear and spiraled the dragon around his ear. Very simple, but easy to screw up if not aided.

"Thanks", he said as he touched it.

"You're welcome. Tell me something; you must know about Xavier Powers because when I mentioned him, you grinned", I noted.

He was about to say something, but we heard the cabin door swing open and watched Sheila and Ro walk out to join us.

Ro saw Nick's red face and teased, "Why are you blushing this time?"

I decided to answer for him, "One word: Trojan." Ro and Sheila burst out laughing, while Nick blushed harder. Hell, I did too. It was awkward for both of us.

Nick barked, "Enough already!"

They stopped laughing and Sheila asked, "Do you have a coin? We need to figure out the sleeping arrangements."

I shook my head, "Nope. No coin on me."

Nick replied, "I might. Hold on." He began digging through his pockets again and pulled out a Las Vegas souvenir coin. He grinned and gave it to Sheila.

"Thanks Nick. You call it."

As she flipped it into the air, Nick shouted, "Heads!" She caught it in her hand and slapped it onto her arm. It was heads.

I groaned as I opened my third beer, "Fuck!"

Nick chuckled, "The boys get the cabin tonight girls. Better luck next time." He took his beer and stood up to rejoin the guys. "Night girls. See y'all tomorrow."

We all said I unison, "Night Nick."

He turned to me and said, "I'll tell you something about Xavier Powers that'll blow your mind…tomorrow."

"Ok. Night, Nick. Don't let the zombies bite. And no wet dreams. That's your only suit!"

He chuckled as he turned crimson. Once he got his coin back, Nick waved at us before going into the cabin to sleep with the guys. As soon as Nick was gone, I knew that I had to sleep now to avoid interrogation.

I yawned, "Damn! I'm so tired. Time for some shut eye." I pulled my jacket off and scrunched it into a ball in order to be used as a pillow. Before Sheila could say something to me, I quickly shouted, "Good night, my fellow zombie slayers!" My head crashed onto my jacket pillow. Thank God it was a warm night. Sheila sighed with defeat as she curled up on the deck and dozed off. Ro was the last to fall asleep among the girls.

Before she did, I heard her ask, "Do you smell Axe?" I did my best not to snicker as sleep overcame my senses, dragging me into a dark and longing sleep.

Apparently, the guys were watching over us through the window in the cabin like a bunch of stalkers. One by one, sleep over powered them, so one by one; they fell asleep, eager for rest. Nick was the last to doze off (aside from Virgil) into La-La Land. But as he did, he held my bandana close to his face and smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

_**Chapter 6: Pour Some Sugar on Me (And Run like Hell!)**_

_~ The tropical storm impaired my vision as I trekked through the construction site in an old town, destroyed by some natural disaster. I don't know which disaster totaled the town, but I do know that I wasn't alone. That Hunter was watching; I can feel my scar burning. Sadly, I didn't have my AK, so I had an axe splintering in my tight fists. I cleared the rain out of my eyes and did my best to stay calm, despite my rage for the creature. Suddenly, about ten witches were in front of me, all crying. My eyes widened as my panic accelerated. "One witch is tough enough, but ten? I'm so fucked!" I screamed in my head. I took a deep breath and axed a witch in the head and booked it out of the immediate area._

_That Hunter leaped down and tackled me down to the ground. He snarled, "Stand up and fight! Come on, Chris! Face your fear of me!"_

"_I'm not afraid of you! I'm not scared of a ghost!" I hissed as I rubbed my knee, which landed on a pile of glass._

"_Then get up and fight!" he barked as he slashed my head away from him, as if he slapped me._

_I looked up, with a nasty scratch on my cheek and bellowed, "You have just ended your life!"_

_He grinned, "Then you have ended your beloved team mate's life as well."_

_Ignoring his threat, I leaped up and swung my axe directly at the neck. He didn't move, defend or even show signs of fear. The sharp blade slit open his throat open with ease, letting blood pour out like a waterfall. I grinned in triumph as his body flopped down at my feet. However, a sharp high pitched scream echoed behind me. As soon as I turned around, I was witnessed a witch take Nick's head and tear it off his body, like Predator. His head-less body fell to the ground in front of me, spraying me with Nick's blood. The witch raised his head into the air and screamed in victory. In pure anger, I leaped at the witch and punched my whole hand through her chest. Sadly, it wasn't enough. Using my friend's head as a weapon, she bashed it against my head, creating a concussion. I stumbled backwards and held my head in agonizing pain. With her claws raised up, ready to tear me to shreds, she charged towards me. Since I was in too much pain, I didn't notice that the witch torn my stomach open, until I fell to the ground, caked with my own stomach acid, my last meal, and massive amounts of blood. ~_

I woke up with a jolt, sweating like a pig. I quickly placed my hands on my stomach, realizing it was still in my body, where it belongs. Then I shot to my feet and walked over to the cabin window and saw Nick asleep on one of the window seats. I sighed with relief to see he was alive and well. That was a gruesome death, even for him. That was a gruesome death in general. It was like 'Saw', but with zombies. The Hunter is dead and there can't be a witch that pissed to tear someone's head off their shoulders. Speaking of the Hunter, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Hunter teeth that still need to go on my necklace. I walked back to my jacket and sat down. The sky was still dark, but a little light was peeking over the horizon, signaling that it was around 4 o'clock in the morning.

"Damn. I'm the early bird today", I said to myself.

Then I heard an unfamiliar voice, "No, you're not." I shot to my feet again and faced the owner of the voice. It was the boat's captain, Virgil. I placed my hand on my heart and exhaled.

"Damn, Virgil. You scared the shit out of me", I replied.

He smiled, "Sorry, girlie. I didn't need to. What are you doing awake so early?"

"I was going to ask you the same question", I challenged.

He chuckled, "I'm the captain, silly girl! I need to be awake at a moment's notice if something goes wrong."

I tilted my head, "Then what's wrong?"

He rubbed the stubble on his chin and replied, "The gas tank has been sabotaged. We don't have enough gas to make it to New Orleans."

I groaned, "Great! Now what?"

He barked, "Hey! Don't you give up hope! There's a nearby town called Ducatel that we can refuel the tank. In the meantime, I'll have to fix the tank."

I sighed, "I guess we're the errand boys to retrieve the gas?"

He beamed, "Thank you for volunteering, missy! You are a bold one!"

I growled at myself, realizing that I was tricked into the deed. Virgil just laughed heartily at me. "Har, har, har, Virgil. Laugh it up", I grumbled.

He lightly gripped my shoulder and replied, "Relax, kid. We don't have many days left in this place we used to call 'home'. Might as well make it last while we still have it, before the army blows it up. You should thank your friends for being your friends and enjoy every moment."

I nodded, "Yeah, I should. Hmm. This remains me of a song by Nickelback. It's called 'If Today was your Last Day.' Ever heard it?"

He shook his head, "Can't say I have. It must be a great song. The only thing I listen to is old country classics."

I did my best not to criticize, "Well, more power to you, pal. I'm a rockier."

He shrugged his shoulders and said, "To each his own, I guess. One more thing; take it easy with your friend in the white suit. Nick. He's had a hurtful relationship. Cut him some slack, missy. I know you will show him compassion." He walked back into the cabin and heard Ellis shout in pain, followed by Virgil replying, "Sorry, mate."

I had to laugh at Ellis's pain. Virgil was right; our days are limited and we must not take things for granted anymore. I should be thanking God for being alive. What he mean about Nick having a hurtful relationship? I try not to pry into Nick's personal life, because frankly, I don't care too much. However, the stupid butterflies in my gut are making me feel like a jackass for thinking that way. Maybe I am feeling for Nick. I can admit it in my head, but never out loud. That's too humiliating to confess.

The Hunter teeth in my hand reminded me of my interrupted task. I sat back down and began twisting the holes into the roots with the corkscrew end. I've been doing this for a while now, so I can probably do it in my sleep. Once the teeth were added to my blood collection, I looked up into the sky and thought about Virgil's words towards Nick and my bloody dream.

It was so gruesome compared to my other nightmares. That witch was very vicious towards Nick for some reason. His ex-wife? Maybe so. Call it a hunch but maybe our next zombie run will involve blood and more witches.

Nick had a bad relationship? Well, join the club buddy. I had a boyfriend named Marshall, who cheated on me, stole from me, abused me, and just was a total jackass to me. Thank God for coke. I'm not a coke head now, thankfully or I would've killed Nick on the first night. One night, I snapped and nearly killed him with a wooden baseball bat. I remember screaming at him as he bolted out the door, "If I ever see your fucking face again, I'll blow your fucking head off! Both of them!" How bad was Nick's relationship? Maybe I'll ask him…some time that doesn't zombies.

Ellis approached me, with his hands holding on to his balls. "Damn, Chris. I thought I had to fear you hitting my boys, but now I need to worry about Virgil."

I held back a laugh, but Ellis glared at me with anger and hurt in his eyes. I swallowed my laugh and replied, "I'm sorry to hear that, Ellis. Maybe if we got by a 'Sports Authority' maybe you can get a cup."

He huffed, "You're a real comedian, Chris. Very funny. Just like Nick."

"Sorry, buddy. I can't help it. Do you need a hug?"

His eyes widened with curiosity and slight shock. "Are you offering?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Why not?"

Ellis was taken back and asked, "Who are you and what did you do with my trigger-happy pal Chris?"

I laughed so hard I snorted. Ellis is onto something; hugging is out of my character. Maybe I'm going to turn a new leaf, right here and now. Embrace the day…and Ellis if he wants one. I refuse to fight with Nick and call it a truce. I'll tell Ro and Sheila everything that comes to my mind. I'll listen to Coach more and pitch some ideas to him. As for Alex, I'll help him improve his aim and not criticize him. Yes; it's my zombie resolution!

I stood up and spread my arms wide open and he stared for a second. Then he finally shrugged and said, "Aww hell." He walked into my arms and we embraced like long-lost friends.

It only lasted about three seconds, because deep in my head, conartist me was barking, "What the hell are you doing! This is against your code! Stop hugging the redneck, you bitch!" I listened and we separated.

Ellis grinned and commented, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

I chuckled nervously because I wanted to say, "Hell yeah it was! Why the hell did I offer it in the first place!" Instead, I said, "I only hugged ya, because you were in pain. Don't expect me to be hugging everyone…including Nick. So it was a onetime thing. Ok, Ellis?"

He nodded as he removed his cap, "Got it. Don't worry about it. Now, do you have any idea what time it is?"

I looked up into the sky, to judge the approximate time. The stars began to fade as the sky got a little brighter. "I'm going to say around 5ish."

"Ok. Thanks. Why are you awake so early? Aren't we normally the ones to wake you up?"

I nodded with a small grin on my face, "Normally, yes. A gory nightmare woke me up."

Ellis sat down and said, "Tell your friend Ellis all about it!"

I sighed, "Fine. I was in a deserted ghost town surrounded by about ten witches with only an axe as a weapon. I ran for my life, but the Hunter tackled me to the ground and threatened my bravery. I slightly beheaded him, but a vicious witch behind me pulled Nick's head off his shoulders. Think of Predator pulling his victims' skulls off their bodies for trophies." Ellis winced as he grabbed his head and neck. I continued, "His body fell to my feet and in pure rage, I attacked the witch. I failed miserably and the witch slashed my stomach open, letting the contents spill on the ground. Then I woke up in a sweat and panic."

"Damn. Talk about vicious! That's pretty scary, Chris!" he commented.

I nodded in agreement, "I know. Maybe in our next zombie run…"

He quickly interrupted me, "We're zombie free, Chris! We're going straight to New Orleans and getting rescued! No more zombie killin'!"

I sighed, "I wish that was true, Ellis." He tilted his head in confusion. "We have to make a pit stop for gas for the boat's tank. Someone or something sabotaged it. Virgil is going to repair the tank, while we go and bring the gas to him. To do that, we must go back into zombie territory and battle our way to the gas and make it back in one piece."

Ellis was quiet for a minute, trying to absorb what I just told him. The silence was short-lived when Ro began to wake up. Both of us watched her rise up slowly like a mummy. He rubbed her eyes and yawned, "Hey, Ellis and…Chris?"

I awkwardly waved to her, "Mornin', Rochelle. How's it going?"

She sat up and asked, "Girl, what are you doing, being up so early? Couldn't take Nick being your alarm clock anymore, huh?"

I replied, "A scary-ass nightmare woke me up this early. As for Ellis being awake, Virgil stepped on his balls."

Ellis added, "They still hurt."

Ro soothed, "Aww, poor Ellis. Don't worry; the pain will go away."

He said, "I know it will. One time, Keith and I were playing baseball with our friends and once Keith hit a hard ground ball. I ran for it and the ball literally jumped and nailed me in the nuts. I was howling all day. Keith felt so bad, so he purposely hit his own nuts with a titanium bat."

Both Ro and I winced at Keith's pain. Ellis chuckled. "Damn, boy!" she replied.

I commented, "Now that's a true friend."

Ellis laughed, "I know! I hope he's ok. He's the only friend I've got back home. What 'bout you, Ro? You must have a sweetheart or family back where you come from."

Ro nodded, "I have my little sister back home. Hopefully she's ok. Believe it or not, she's around your age, Ellis."

He beamed, "Cool! What 'bout-"

I quickly interrupted with venom in my voice, "Don't go there, Ellis. That's your only warning, buddy."

He rose his hands in innocence, "Ok, Chris. Sorry for bringing it up."

Ro decided to change the subject by saying, "I'd kill for a decent meal right now."

Our stomachs began growling on queue with Ro's statement. Ellis grumbled, "Me too. A nice rare steak on the grill…awww man! With ice cold beer on the side! Damn, I'd kill a thousand witches to get that fantasy!"

I groaned, "I'd fight through five thousand Tanks to get a huge deep dish pizza! All to myself. Pepsi as a drink and a scary movie on the TV. Candy on the side. Shit, fantasy food is spreading!"

Ellis and Ro began laughing softly as we thought of our favorite meals. In the midst of our food conversation, Coach woke up and staggered out onto the stern. We looked up to greet him.

"Hey, Coach", Ro said happily.

"Mornin' Coach!" Ellis greeted him with his bright smile. If there's one thing Nick might never have is Ellis's bright smile. Even it makes me happy for the moment.

He yawned and replied, "Hey, Ellis, Ro, and…Chris? You're awake awfully early."

I sighed, "I know. A scary nightmare forced me awake."

He asked, "Was it about the Hunter?"

I looked down and nodded slightly, "Yeah, but I killed him, only ending Nick's life as well."

He joined our little circle and asked, "Whatcha talking about?"

I explained, "The Hunter said to me, 'Then you have ended your *cough* team mate as well' when I attacked him. When I decapitated him, nearly, a very pissed-off witch tore Nick's head off his body."

Coach hissed as a visual image played in his head. "Damn Chris. Are you going to tell Nick?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Only if he asks. I don't want to spook him too much. It was as gory as 'Hostel' and all of the 'Saw' movies together."

Ro shook her head, "Don't worry about it. It was just a dream. Dreams project images and activities for our lives into our heads when we sleep. You spent a good amount of time with Nick last night, so that's why Nick was in it. The Hunter was killed yesterday and witches are vicious bitches that we tangle with every day. As for the blood and gore, maybe you watched too many horror movies as a kid."

My mouth hung ajar for a few seconds before answering, "Fuck being a reporter, Ro! You should be a psychologist."

Ellis grinned devilishly, "Why is Nick always in your dreams?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe because he's the one I clash with the most or have the same career choice."

Ellis's grin grew wider as he shouted, "You like him! Admit it, Chris!"

Realizing he was still asleep, I tackled Ellis and placed my hand over his mouth, snarling, "No…I…don't. And unless you want to be swimming to New Orleans, you'd keep your mouth shut. Got it?"

He refused to give up on his goal, because he spat into my hand. I leaped off him, wiping his spit off my hand on his pants. Ro and Coach began laughing as they saw the disgusted look on my face. I can handle zombies without getting squeamish, but if someone spits on me, I immediately take a disliking in it. The spitting contest last night was different; it was spitting at a can, not onto someone.

He sat up and rubbed his back. "Damn, you pinned me good, Chris. Now I know how Nick felt when you tackled him!"

Coach said to me, "Don't hurt the boy. We need to be in fit condition if we're going to fight again."

I looked up at him, "So you know we're landing and getting gas for the boat."

He nodded, "Virgil told me when I woke up."

I sighed, "Ok. Only Nick, Sheila, and Alex don't know yet. We'll tell them when they wake up."

Ellis smirked, "Will you wake up Nick?"

I growled, "He'll wake up with your blood on his suit if you're not careful."

He just shook his head, realizing that it was just an empty threat. But my next sentence made his blood run cold.

"Maybe Sheila will wake him up."

His grin disappeared faster than Jimmy Gibbs Jr. racing towards the finish line on the last lap. He growled, "Don't even joke."

"Jealous much, Ellis?"

He growled again, "Just drop it, Chris!"

I shrugged because I got the reaction I wanted out of him. If he teases me about Nick, I have the ability to tease him about Sheila. Even if I have to add Nick into the mix. He's like a dog that's protective over a rawhide bone. If another dog goes near it, he'll get defensive about it by attacking or barking. One day, he'll learn not to be so jealous.

Sheila began to stir at the mere sound of her name. Ellis froze as she groaned as she rolled onto her back. "Someone better have breakfast ready, because I could eat a zombiefied cow!"

I chuckled, "Nope! The only thing that's on this bloody boat is the beer and the M&Ms from the helicopter."

Without opening her eyes, she crawled her way to the circle, grabbed my arm and grumbled hungrily, "I'll take them! I'll die without food right now!"

I sighed, "Drama queen." I pulled out the bags of M&Ms and opened the bag. "Cup your hands together, Sheila." She obeyed eagerly. I poured some of the yummy chocolate bits into her waiting hands. When she began eating them, I offered M&Ms to everyone else, who gladly accepted. Be the time everyone got hands full of M&Ms, the bag was half empty. I apologized, "Sorry. It ain't much, but they'll hold y'all over for a bit."

Ro commented, "They're just fine. It's good to have something fill your stomach, other than beer."

I chuckled as I thought about last night. I literally said, "I love you, Nick!" just because the man brought me a six-pack. I hope he knew I was kidding. If not, then I'll have some explaining to do when he wakes up. Come to think of Nick and beer, he had about three beers and I had two and opened a third one. I can only wonder how good his alcohol intake is. H can be a hard-core drinker or have a few beers and fall face first to the floor. Hangovers are rare in my case. However, I have heard Nick complain to himself when wounded, "Stop being a baby. You've felt worse after a night of drinking." I wonder if he'll get a hangover when he wakes up.

Alex stumbled towards us and saw the M&Ms. He whined, "Awwww! Can I have some?"

I chuckled as I opened the bag again, "Sure, Alex. Why not?" I poured some into his waiting hands and he began munching on them as if he was dying of hunger. "Chill out, Alex. I know none of us have eaten anything good in a while, but seeing you eating like that makes me feel bad."

He swallowed the chocolate wad in his maw and replied, "Sorry. I've never been without food for this long before. I would normally eat something at Burger Tank or the Waffle House, by now."

Coach's stomach growled so loud, we all thought it was a zombie, "Don't say Burger Tank, Alex. I'm dying for a triple cheeseburger with tomatoes, pickles, and mayo. Damn!"

We all began laughing at Coach, while our stomachs began to growl along with his. Finally, I asked Alex, "What's Nick doing when you woke up?"

He looked up with a small grin playing on his face, "He was sleeping like a baby, sayin' some pretty weird things."

I sighed, trying to avoid grinning, "I know I'm going to regret this, but what was he sayin'?"

Alex's grin finally broke as he did his best Nick impersonation, "Take me baby! I need you bad! Give it to me!"

Everyone burst out laughing, falling backwards on the deck, holding their sides and snorting like pigs. I was cackling like a hyena as well, but I was also mortified, thanks to my dirty mind. "Please dear God, he's talking about his ex-wife", I mumbled to myself.

Over the P.A, Virgil announced, "Ducatel is coming up in a few minutes. Everyone get ready!"

Only Alex and Sheila was wondering what he meant by that. We quickly explained to them what we were doing: collecting gas for the boat so it can sail to New Orleans. They groaned at the thought of more zombie runs, but they didn't complain. That's Nick's job.

Speaking of Nick, I stood up and walked into the cabin to wake up the sleeping con artist. I kneeled before the window seat he was sleeping on and began to gently shake his right shoulder. "Nick. Nick. Wake up, buddy. Time to go."

He groaned in response. He began mumbling something, but I didn't catch it in time.

I began to shake a little harder, "Come on, Nick. Up and at 'em!"

He swatted my hand away from his shoulder and rolled onto his right side, his back to me. I growled at his stubbornness. Finally, I stood up and walked over to the cooler where the beers were. I pulled out an ice cube and spoke to Nick's sleeping form, "You better wake up or you're going to get a nasty surprise."

He grumbled, "You would, bitch" and he rolled off the seat onto the floor in a painful huff. I sighed as I tossed the ice cube back into the cooler. He lifted his arm up and I grabbed it before it grabbed me. I helped Nick off the floor. I knew he had a hangover, because as soon as he got to his feet, he groaned in pain and leaned against my body for support. "What the fuck happened last night?"

I ignored his question and opened the cabin floor him. "Come on, Nick. All hands on deck."

He grabbed the door and fell once he let go. I sighed and helped him up again. Only this time, he held onto me. He looked like a little kid clinging onto his mom on the first day of school. "Damn it", he grunted, "I hate hangovers."

"Me too. You using me as a hold isn't funny. Before the boat stops in Ducatel, you better pull yourself together!" I led him onto the stern, where everyone was waiting and preparing. The mere sight of Nick holding onto me made Ellis and Alex howl with laughter. I snarled, "Shut up, boys! I hate both of you right now."

Sheila asked while doing her best not to snicker, "What happened to him?"

I answered, "Hangover. He's dizzy, light-headed", then I told Nick, "Turn your head towards me."

He grunted, "Whatever." He turned his head and drunkenly glared into my eyes. I took two fingers and opened his eyelids of his right eye a little more. He had bloodshot eyes.

"And bloodshot eyes. Plus, he can't remember anything from last night. If that's not a hangover, then I don't know what is." The Bucker brothers were about to say something, but I quickly sneered, "If you two are about to say what I think you're thinking, then you'll be living in a world of zombies and pain." They immediately shut up.

Nick shook his head semi-clear and asked, "Does anyone have pain killers? I've got a headache the size of Iceland over here."

Alex walked over to the gun bag and pulled out a bottle of pills. He tossed them to Nick, but in his hangover state, I knew he wasn't going to catch them. I snatched them out of the air like a ninja and opened the bottle. "Here, Nick", I soothed as I offered him the opened pill bottle. He smiled at me and swallowed the pills without any fluids. After the last bunch was forced down his gullet, he sighed with relief. "Your head feeling any better, Nick?"

He nodded, "Yeah. A little. Little hangovers like this will wear off in about fifteen minutes or so. I'll be fine. It's nice to see that you're so caring to me."

I blushed and our friends began snickering. Right; he's in a drunk-like haze, so I guess he's not lying because his minds still on beer. So, if someone asked him a personal question, he'll tell the truth. In my head, I yelled, "Fuck! He better not say anything!" I grumbled, "Well, at least you're better than…" I quickly shut my mouth and regret bringing it up. My hand gripped the bottle cap so hard, my knuckles turned ghostly white.

Ellis asked with uncertainty, "What?"

I snapped my head in his direction and my sharp hazel eyes shot daggers into his heart, immediately scaring him. Sheila rolled her eyes as she knew who I was talking about. Marshall. My abusive ex-boyfriend. She gripped Ellis's shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry, Ellis. You don't need to know. It's all in the past. Right, Chris?"

I growled as I slightly nodded. Nick let go of me and stood up on his own, but he was still a bit dizzy. He ran his ringed fingers through his hair and asked, "Old boyfriend?"

I growled louder as the mere thought of Marshall made me very angry. "Don't piss me off, Nick", I hissed at the con man.

He raised his hands in defense and replied, "Jeez, I didn't know you got so touchy about your old flame. He must have been a total jackass if you hate him so much."

I exhaled through my nose, making a slight hissing sound, "Let's just say he's ten times worse than you, Nick. We fight verbally, not physically."

Alex gasped, "He abused you!"

I closed my eyes and growled, "Let's get off this topic before the lead flies, ok?"

Alex nodded in slight fear and remained quiet. Sheila sighed again, realizing that I'd rather cover my past then reveal it. She knows everything about me. My high school days, my love life, the [violent] break-up, my family's end, and my attitude adjustment. She could write a book about my life. And maybe the first line would be:_ Christina is not a bad girl; she just had bad experiences_.

The boat slipped up against the dock and Virgil said over the P.A, "I'll anchor just off shore. Signal me when you have the gas."

We all leaped off the boat and landed on the dock (Nick tripped onto the dock, thanks to his dizziness.) The boat began to turn away from the dock and sliced through the thin fog of the river. I stretched my limbs and heard them crack. Sheila lightly hit my shoulder and whispered, "Keep an eye on your drunken boy. With his shaky aim, he'll shoot us!"

I sighed as I grabbed Nick's arm and pulled him in the group. He asked me, "How are we going to signal him?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, buddy. Ellis?"

He looked at me and answered, "Don't you remember? There's flares in the gun bag."

Nick asked in confusion, "What gun bag?"

Ellis looked at Nick with sudden urgency, "You didn't bring the guns!"

He snapped, "Me? Who died and made me gun monitor!"

Ellis retorted, "Pretty much everybody!"

I defended, "Knock it off, you two. Ellis, Nick's in too much of a hangover to do anything right now so cut him some slack. Nick, you didn't know that you were put in charge of the bag, so it's not your fault. We'll have to adapt, that's all. Just grab a melee weapon and let's get moving."

There were melee weapons on the ground in front of the Burger Tank, so we all grabbed something. It was mostly axes or crowbars. Nick was still a little dizzy, so I had to keep a close eye on him. We walked into the back door of the fast food restaurant and noticed all of the equipment inside. Ro whistled and replied, "Well, we'll be well supplied for once."

Coach commented, "We're doing fine on what we have. Take a few and save the rest. We may need it."

She nodded, "Fine. Everyone grab a weapon!"

Apparently, Nick and I had our eyes on the very same gun, which was a sub machine gun. We both grabbed it and both of us (being the stubborn con artists that we were) refused to let go. "Hey!" Nick barked at me.

"Hey back!" I snapped in the same tone.

"This gun is mine, sweetheart!" he hissed as he tried to pry my grip off the gun.

I resisted, but couldn't help saying, "Ninth time. Let go, Nicko!"

He growled, "Don't call me-"he tripped over a chair and went flying backwards. Sadly, neither of us didn't loosen our holds on the weapon, so I was pulled forward with him as he stumbled into a janitor's closet. Desperate to grab something, I used my other hand to grip the door. Once again, sadly, it didn't slow me down and as an added bonus, it shut behind me. So now, I'm in a dark closet with the hung-over Nick, with one gun and as I tried to open the door again, it was locked from the outside. What else can go wrong?

"Guys! Open the door! We're locked in here!" I barked as I banged on the door.

Instead of crazed scrambling, I heard snickering on the other side. "Hey. Chris!" I heard Ro shout, "Now's not the time to play '7 minutes in Heaven!'"

I retorted, "Not my fault! He tripped and dragged me along for the ride! Come on, guys! Let us out! And I hate that game!"

Sheila began laughing, "Well, be happy it's not Marshall. You said so yourself, Nick's better than him!"

I snarled, "That fucker is dead to me! I'd rather be set on fire than be the closet with him right now! By the way, I was talking about his hangovers, not him in general!"

Sheila barked, "Just admit it! You'll sleep better at night!"

"Hell no! Fuck no! That Hunter haunts my sleep remember! There's no good sleep for me anymore! Now open the fucking door or I'll be forced to bust it down!"

She slyly replied, "Not until the seven minutes are up. Starting now."

I growled, "I fucking hate you right now, Sheila. You know that?"

Ellis began cackling while she answered, "I know! And I love this new torture!"

I growled as I looked back at Nick, who was among a bunch of mops and brooms. One of his feet was in a bucket and he was sitting on an electric floor buffer. His hand held onto the sub machine gun, so I guess he gets it. He looked up at me and quipped, "You've got great negotiating skills."

I hissed, "Shut up, Nick. I'm not in the mood to be taking any of your bullshit."

He asked, "What did Sheila mean by 'admitting it'?"

I sighed, "Nothing. At least nothing that concerns you."

Ellis shouted on the other side, "Yes it does!"

I hit the door and a small yelp came on the other side. "You deserved it, Ellis!" I barked.

I heard him mutter, "Bitch" and his footsteps retreated away. I growled in impatience as I can't wait seven minutes to be free. Nothing's happening! Nick's not pulling moves on me or vice versa! I began pacing, while I heard Nick stand up among all of the cleaning equipment. He grabbed my shoulder and said, "Relax, will ya? We'll get out of here."

I scoffed, "Yeah. In less than seven minutes. That game brings back some bad memories. I can't wait that long. Fuck this. I'm going to kick the door down.

Nick just shook his head and replied, "Five bucks says you're going to hurt yourself."

I huffed, "Deal." I stood about two feet in front of the door and barked, "Get away from the door!" I swiftly kicked the door with my right leg with all the force I had. The door whined under the sudden force of the kick, but it didn't break. However, the scabs on my leg did.

Nick asked, "Are you ok?"

I gritted my teeth in pain and replied, "Never better."

He tilted his head and cocked his eyebrow at me. Thankfully it was dark inside, because I was so close to crying from the pain. Finally, I exploded, "Motherfucker, shit-sucking, camel-humping, monkey-eating, cum-consuming whore bitch! Those Hollywood sluts lied to me!"

I heard Alex say, "Damn, Chris. That's a new one."

I kneeled down and grabbed my leg in agony. I can feel warm blood beginning to seep through my pants. Nick used the sub machine gun flashlight and pointed it at my leg. My pant leg was stained red and as well had my hand. He hissed in pain as he saw it. Then he stood up and said to me, "Stay down".

I obeyed and he began shooting around the doorknob. There were shrieks and shouts on the other side of the door. When the sub-machine gun stopped firing, Nick pushed the door open and growled to his fellow survivors, "That wasn't funny. Now help Chris out of there, while I go scout ahead. Now!"

Ro and Sheila scrambled towards me while Ellis, Alex, and Coach guarded the front door. Ro helped me limp to a table and saw my leg bleeding again. "Oh man, Chris. Why did you have to kick the door?" she complained to me.

I was about to snap at her, but Sheila quickly replied, "Because I refused to open the door. Good thing Nick had a clear mind in there. He helped you out."

I growled almost automatically, "Nothing happened."

She nodded, "I know. Believe it or not, Nick almost shot me and Alex when he was blasting the knob to bits."

I grinned a little, which made Sheila feel a little better. I stated, "Karma. What a bitch, right Sheila?"

She nodded as she rolled up my pants leg and saw the wound again. Some of the scabs were still sealed, but the bigger ones were flowing flesh blood from them. Instead of the dagger-and-lighter healing, the girls patched me up with the traditional alcohol-and-gauze method. It didn't hurt as bad as the first time, but it hurt enough for me to hiss. Once they were done patching my wound, the boys ran inside.

Nick took my side and asked, "Are you ok?"

I nodded as I gripped his left shoulder, "I'm fine, Nick. I hope I won't slow anyone down. If that happens, then just…"

Nick interrupted, "We're not leaving you behind. No way in Hell! You're staying with us and blast zombies just like the past few days. And probably blast a couple of insults towards me."

I shrugged, "Nah. No insults. No bullets. No vicious pouncing. Today's a clean slate since I'm off my crazy mode…if you catch my drift."

The guys thought about it for a second and realized what I meant when I limped to the bathroom. Thank God the cycle lasts only one or two days, but I get an extra dose of "bitch" than any other girl. Oh well.

Once I limped out, everyone was waiting for me in the kitchen. I took out my axe and commanded, "Come on. Let's get this show on the road!"

We went outside and Nick saw a sign that said, "Ducatel Diesel. Next Gas 2 miles " He pointed at the sign with a small grin on his face, which to me means "He made a bet off this, didn't he?" Indeed, he said, "Out of gas. What did I tell ya?"

Ellis walked next to him and replied, "Looks like we gotta head to this Ducatel place."

Nick retorted, "What makes you think they still have gas?"

Coach stepped in, "'Cause if they don't, we're gonna be stuck here forever, Nick."

I gulped, "Oh not good! With my leg like this, I can't swim very well. Plus, four out of seven of us can't swim anyway. We better pray that Ducatel has gas."

Coach added, "Amen, Chris."

After blasting zombies for about five minutes, Ro got attacked by a Jockey. "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"

Luckily, I was the closest and I'm the only one still using a melee weapon, so I was fastest to her aid. As I swung my axe and nailed it in the back, I snarled, "Back off, Jockey!" It fell off her and she said, "Thanks, girl. I thought I was done."

I scoffed, "Hell no. You're just lucky I was nearby. You do look a ragged, so here. Take these pills." I took the bottle of pills I found in the back of an ambulance and handed them to her.

She grinned as she swallowed them, "Thanks, Chris. All better now."

While I was helping Ro, Alex found some laser sights on the porch of an old house. "Hey. Laser pointers here", he announced as he attached one to his assault rifle at the yard sale. The guys followed his example by grabbing laser sights for their guns as well. Nick was equipping his sight on his combat rifle when he saw Ro and I catch up.

"What happened to you guys? Ellis realized you weren't behind us and we got a little worried."

Ro quipped, "Aww Nick. You were worried?"

He quickly stammered, "I said 'we', not 'me'."

She smirked, "We know what you meant."

I jumped in, "Enough you two. We're here now, alive and well. Ro got jumped by a Jockey."

He nodded, "Ok. You're still using that axe?"

I looked at it and asked, "What's wrong with it?"

He replied, "Nothing, but I think it's not going to help against larger or far-off targets. Here, take my combat rifle. I can get another weapon." He handed me his fully-loaded combat rifle with the laser pointer attachment.

I smiled as I placed the bloody axe on my back, "Thanks, Nick. I wish I still had my AK, but like I said before, I wasn't your fault. No more beer for you, my friend."

He rolled his eyes as I walked by him. Ro just crossed her arms and glared at him. He asked as he threw his arms in the air, "What?"

She only grinned as she answered, "Nothing, Nick. Let's get moving."

He just shrugged and followed me back to the group. I began to speak, "I can walk two miles easy, but limping will take awhile. I don't know if-" I was quickly interrupted by Nick loudly clearing his throat. I looked up at him. He had a small scowl on his face at the suggestion I was going to make: leave me behind. I finished, "I don't know if anyone knows how to hot wire a pick-up." I pointed to a beat-up and rusty pick-up truck that was in the drive way. Alex and Ellis looked at it as if it was the Mona Lisa.

"Chris, you're a genius!" Alex beamed as he ran towards the truck. Nick quickly snatched another combat rifle while we walked to the vehicle. Alex told Ellis, "When I smash the window, the alarm may go off. When it does, prepare to fight while I hot-wire our ride."

Ellis nodded and replied, "We can count on us, lil' bro."

Alex took his assault rifle and bashed the window open. Sure enough, the alarm went off. All of us had our guns at the ready, while Alex unlocked the door and slid under the steering wheel. Nick, Ro and I were guarding the "shotgun" side of the truck, while Coach, Ellis, and Sheila protected Alex while he went to work. The horde came running, as usual. As we sent lead flying through the air, once, a Smoker tried to snag Nick. However, nick saw the Smoker and quickly shot it before it got a chance to grab him.

I commented, "Nice shooting, Nick!"

He grinned, "Thank, Chris."

As soon as the horde ended, I felt a single raindrop on my head. "Huh?" I looked up and noticed how dark it was getting. "Damn. I think a storm's coming our way. On the up side, we need the rain to wash the blood and sweat off."

Nick quipped, "What about Axe?"

I snapped my head in his direction and playfully hit his arm. "That too."

Ro quickly replied, "I knew I smelled Axe last night! You two got cuddle-y when none of us were looking, eh?"

Coach and Sheila began laughing at our red faces. Nick snapped, "No! Nothing happened last night…that I can remember."

I added, "It's the head band that smells like Axe. It came from Nick's shirt." To prove my point, I lifted his jacket a little, showing the ragged cutting I did on it. She was still grinning anyway.

"You still sweat him, Chris."

I hissed, "I don't! By the way, he's standing right here!"

Nick felt awkward being in the middle of this cat fight, so he quickly jumped into the bed of the truck and sat down. He heard Ro whisper to me, "Don't worry too much, Chris. He sweats you too."

He hissed, "Do not!"

Ro turned and chuckled, "Eavesdropper!"

All of a sudden, we heard Alex yelp in surprise. We ran to his side, where he was holding a yellow puff ball, no bigger than a grapefruit. It had four little paws and a small fanged mouth. It looked harmless, but who knows in this zombie apocalypse.

"What the hell is that thing?" Coach asked Alex.

He shrugged without taking his blue eyes off of it, "I don't know Coach. When I was done hot-wiring the truck, I sat up and saw this little guy sitting on the dash board. It made a cute little 'meep' sound and hopped into my hand. I was a little startled, that's all."

Ro, Sheila, and I were completely captured by its cuteness. I n unison, we said, "Awwwww! It's so cute!" All the guys just looked at us with questioned looks on their faces. The creature went "meep" again and we began giggling at it. Now the boys were just plain worried about us.

Nick asked as he snapped his fingers in front of my face "Are you high?"

I snapped out of my cute hypnosis and replied, "Huh? No. I'm fine. Even something that cute can make me go…err… 'Girly-girl' for a lack of a better term."

Alex tickled it's chin and nodded, "You gotta admit; this little guy is pretty cute. I'm going to keep it like a pet."

Coach countered, "That's not a good idea, Alex. We don't know what it is. We don't know if it's dangerous or not. We don't know what it eats. We don't know anything about this little ball of fluff."

Ellis looked at the creature and it looked at him. "I think it's a Hunter pup."

We all asked, "A Hunter what?"

"A Hunter pup", he repeated, "I've seen them in my dreams before. These little fellas are completely harmless, unless provoked. Just like the adult Hunters, they eat meat."

I growled as I grabbed my Hunter necklace, "Not cool. When it grows up, it's going to kill us."

Alex countered, "Not if we treat it like a member of this team. Where's it's parents?"

Everyone looked at me. I shrugged, "Sorry. I probably killed them. Hunter hunter, remember? Just for that, it'll probably hate me."

As if it heard me, it turned to me and stared with its non-exist eyes. I gulped as I stared back at it. It "meeped" and hopped onto my combat rifle, scurried across it and hopped onto my forearm. I flinched, thinking it was going to bite me, but instead, it cuddled into my jacket sleeve and purred. My paranoia melted away when I said, "Awww. Too cute."

Nick rolled his eyes and then the Hunter pup saw how comfortable his shoulder looked. The little guy crawled up my arm onto my left shoulder, scampered across my collar bone onto my right shoulder. Then it slid down to my right elbow and used it as a springboard onto Nick's shoulder. He yelped in surprise as the little yellow puff ball curled into his suit shoulder. He looked down on it, annoyed I must add. He wasn't amused by this thing, so he growled at Alex, "You better get this thing off me, before I crush it with my shoe."

Alex carefully pried it off of Nick and warned, "That's no way to talk to Lazerlemon like that, Nick. He's one of us now."

Nick cocked his eyebrow and asked, "What kind of name is Lazerlemon? Sounds like a videogame code name or something."

He countered, "It's the name I gave him! He's yellow like a lemon and he likes the laser sights on our guns. Look."

Alex pointed his gun on his arm and the pup followed. Then he pointed the laser on his hand and the pup pounced it playfully. Then he pointed it at Ellis's hat and the pup took a mighty leap to his hat. Sadly, it was a few inches short of the jump and almost fell. Ellis caught him before he got hurt. "Easy there, Lazerlemon. Don't hurt yourself, ya hear?"

It nodded at Ellis. Nick finally spoke, "Ok. Who wants this thing in our party? Raise your hand."

Ellis, Alex, Ro, Sheila, and lastly I raised our hands in the air. Nick mentally begged for me to put my hand down with his pleading eyes. I closed mine to avoid staring and feeling guilty. Pleading green eyes get me every time. Alex beamed, "Majority rules! He's stayin' with us! Now, all of y'all hop into the bed and hang on tight." I was about to climb in, but Alex quickly stopped me. "I don't think so, Chris. You've got shotgun on this ride." I shrugged and hopped into the passenger seat of the truck.

I opened the back window and slammed the door. Alex asked, "Are you ready back there?" Everyone made some sort of sign that they were ready and hanging on to dear life. Unknown to me, Alex or the pup, Sheila found a video camera in the bed, along with a digital camera. She loved taking pictures and creating videos so she decided to catch some of this apocalypse on tape and film.

As Alex drove down the zombie littered road to the gas station, Sheila was filming everyone as if we were soldiers going into battle. She aimed the camcorder to Ellis and said, "Hey, Ellis! This is a recording!"

Ellis looked up and noticed the red light was on. "Oh shit! Do I look decent?"

She giggled, "You look fiiinnnee, Ellis!"

He cleared his throat and asked, "What should I say?"

"Say anything! Do anything! Do one of your Keith stories."

Everyone in the bed shouted, "No!"

She then pointed the camera at Coach and said, "Hey Coach! What do you have to say?"

He thought for a second and replied, "I hate zombies! It's like I'm stuck on the set of '28 Days Later'. But I will kick some zombie ass, even if it kills me!"

"Very strong words, Coach." She turned to Ro, "Do your best Madonna impersonation!"

She looked at her confused, "Excuse me? My best what impersonation?"

All of the guys began to snicker at Sheila's request. She repeated, "Madonna impersonation. Sing us a little something!"

She sighed and sang, "Livin' in a material world and I am a material girl! That's all your getting, guys. I don't like to sing out loud with people around."

Ellis added, "Don't worry, Ro. You did good. I believe the only person that likes to sing out loud would be Chris. Nick knows she sings in her sleep."

I heard his comment and shouted, "Only if I have my IPod on when I sleep! That was only one time!"

Sheila crawled over to the window and stuck the camera inside. Lazerlemon just stared at it and tilted its head in curiosity to the device. Sheila cooed, "You're so cute, Lazerlemon! Yes, you are! Yes, you are!"

I looked to my left and the camera spooked me. "Holy shit! Get that thing out of my face! Go pick on Nick with it!"

She snickered, "I thought picking on Nick was your job!"

I growled, "It was! But not now!"

She asked, "What happened in the closet?"

"Nothing happened! That's what happened! Nothing! The bet and my leg injury! That's it! No juicy secrets that you can post on YouTube when this hell blows over!"

"Then why do you smell like Axe?"

"The head band! It's the head band!"

"Yeah right! You like him."

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"So you're saying that you don't un-love Nick!"

"Yes!"

She smirked, "I caught you with a double negative! You just confessed that you love Nick!"

I hissed, "Fuck you! Oh wait. That's Ellis's job!" The whole truck went "Ooohhhh!" over my comeback.

She blushed and replied, "Touché."

Nick tapped the glass on the window and I immediately got a little edgy. "What, Nick?"

He grinned slyly, "Pay up! I won. You…got…hurt." His normal, snarky attitude was toned down by sudden concern. He growled to himself, "Damn hangovers!"

I turned my head and pulled up the five dollar bill anyway. I hung my arm out the window (past the camera) and hit Nick's shoulder. With guilt, he took the bill and replied, "Thanks. Sorry for being a jackass."

I shrugged as I pulled my arm back into the truck, "It's ok. Don't go soft or you'll be dead before we reach New Orleans! Don't you go falling for me, k, Nicky?"

He growled, "Don't call me 'Nicky!' How many times do I gotta say it!"

I quipped, "Out of that whole sentence, you're pissed off at the nickname?"

He thought about it and blushed at his mistake. Sheila was taping the whole time, catching Nick's embarrassment on camera. When he realizes that he was being taped, he threatened, "If this goes on the internet, I'll hunt you down and wring your neck until you're purple."

Sheila ignored his threat, because he's all talk and no action. However, she did turn off the camera and muttered, "I'll save some film for later. Hey, Chris! Take this digital camera and keep it."

I didn't even get a chance to react when she tossed it through the window. I was lucky I caught it before it shattered against the dash board. Why? Why does she want me to take pictures? Of what? The zombies? Us? The atmosphere! I don't know. What I do know is that I will get some pictures of my friends. Even if I have to tackle them to the ground in order to get it. Whatever. I want to have pictures of them if I even decide to write a book when I get out of this. I tested the camera on Lazerlemon. I turned it on and peered through the screen at the fluff ball. "Hey, Lazerlemon. Smile!" To my surprise, he did. He gave me a big toothy smile when I took the picture. The flash kinda stunned him a little, but he shook head and was fine in the end. I looked at the photo and said, "Aww. Even in a picture, he's so cute."

I heard Ellis shout, "Hey Chris. Speaking of singing, give us a song!"

I turned and stuck my head out the window, "I can't. My IPod is on the gun bag. So is Nick's lucky lighter. Can't sing without music."

Ellis rolled his eyes at my feeble excuse, "Oh come on, girl. Hey, I know a song you can sing! Do you know 'I Don't Want-'"

"'To Miss a Thing' by Aerosmith! No way in Hell! I know the song; I just refuse to sing it! Sorry, Ellis. Choose something else…that isn't lovey-dovey."

He hummed for a second and finally said, "What about 'The Enemy' by Godsmack?"

I grinned, "I love that song! Ok. Just let me get the rhythm in my head."

Everyone waited for a second and Nick began singing it out of impatience, "Hey! Oh, Mr. backstabbing son of a bitch! You're living in a world that will soon be dying!"

Ellis quickly joined in, knowing the song, "And I know! Everybody knows you try to be like me! But even at your best, there's a man you doesn't equal half of me!"

I joined in the chorus, "I am realizing that everybody's lost their simple ways! And now that it's here, I see it all so clearly! I've come face-to-face with the enemy! Oh the enemy!"

Sheila nudged Ro as she began to sing, "You! You're another shit talking punk to me! The living inspiration for what I never want to be!"

Ro finally gave in and sang, "And I see you've been blinded by what you believe! And back up and sit down, shut up and act like you need to be!"

Coach smiled and joined into our group, "I am realizing that everybody's lost their simple ways! And now that it's here, I see it all so clearly! I've come face-to-face with the enemy! Oh the enemy!"

Nick growled in a deep voice, "Come to me. Come to me. Oh the enemy. Come to me. Come to me."

He looked at me in the corner of his eye and I quickly looked back. He blushed slightly, but I just shrugged. Hey that line was part of the song. No need to be embarrassed by it.

Alex sang the last bit on his own, "So predicting, you're the reason why I lie. Simple decision took too much time to fly! Oh check mate! Check mate!" He began drumming on the steering wheel to the beat in his head.

The final chorus was sung by all of us, "I am realizing that everybody's lost their simple ways! And now that it's here, I see it all so clearly! I've come face-to-face with the enemy! Oh the enemy! Come to me!"

Once the song was over, everyone cheered at each other's singing and high-fived each other. Sadly, this happy event was interrupted by a strange null in power in the truck. Alex hit the dash board and Lazerlemon went 'meep?' The truck ran out of gas. Alex turned and announced, "Sorry, guys. Out of gas."

Ro groaned, "It's just like Jimmy Gibbs stock car. Out of gas."

I snapped my head towards her, "You saw Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s stock car! Lucky bitches."

Ellis and Alex looked at me and Ellis beamed, "You like Jimmy Gibbs Jr. too?"

I gave a thumb sideways and replied, "I love his car, not too much Jimmy himself. He has a vibe that says 'cocky jerk', especially when he's racing."

Ellis sighed and Alex asked about the story on how they got Jimmy's stock car in the first place. When the elder Bucker brother told his exciting story to his young charge, I took Lazerlemon and slid out of the truck…right in front of a safe house. Lazerlemon 'meeped' at me and hopped into my jacket pocket. I wondered why until I heard faint thunder claps. I quickly shouted, "Guys! Safe house ahead! Hurry! The storm's getting closer!"

Everyone looked over in my direction and ran into the safe room. Sadly, a nearby Charger spotted me as easy prey, thanks to my limping. He bayed, which made me freeze and aim my combat rifle everywhere. "Where are you, you crazy fucker!" He tackled me down the stairs in front of the safe room door and little Lazerlemon tumbled out of my pocket. At the bottom, the Charger lifted me up and pounded my body into the ground with bone-shattering force. I shouted in pain, but it wasn't heard right away. Lazerlemon squealed at the top of his little lungs, alerting everyone that I was in trouble. Ellis was the first on the scene. "Oh shit! Back off!" he barked as he bolted down the stairs and shot the Charger in the arm, causing it to let go of me. "Finish him off, Chris!"

I grumbled as I sat up, "With pleasure!" I aimed my rifle at the creature and shot it in the chest three times. It fell dead while I struggled to stand up. "Son of a bitch! My legs feel like pudding!"

Ellis ran to my side and helped me to my feet. "Stay with me, Chris. Lean against my side and hop up the stairs." I obeyed and leaned against Ellis's side as he guided me up the stairs and into the safe house. Lazerlemon hopped up the stairs and scampered into the safe room, leaping onto Nick's shoulder like a bouncy ball. It jumped up and down, squeaking at him with urgency. He growled as he shooed the puff ball off his shoulder. It huffed at the con man and hopped back into Alex's hand. Outside the door, Ellis yelled, "Open up, guys!"

Nick looked up as Sheila and Coach opened the door and Nick gasped as he saw Ellis drag me inside. He leapt to his feet and grabbed my other arm, trying to get me away from Ellis. Ellis grinned evilly as he let Nick take over. Sheila asked, "What happened?"

I wheezed, "Charger…down…stairs…hurting…ow…"

Nick replied, "Don't worry. You'll be ok, Chris. I promise…once we find some adrenaline."

Ro plucked the shot off her belt and gave it to me. "Here, girl. You need this more than me."

I replied, "Thanks. I need the feeling back in my legs." Nick held me up while I took the shot and stabbed it into my right thigh. Almost immediately, strength powered my muscles and I was able to stand up without limping anymore. I stood upright and noticed Nick was still holding me. I cleared my throat, but he didn't seem to get the picture. "Ummm…Nick?"

"Yeah?"

I was going to say, "Get your bloody hands off me. I can stand now" but I thought for a second and said, "Bet you five bucks that you're ticklish."

He scoffed, "You're on!"

I grinned, "Ok then." Using my right arm (since Nick has my left trapped against his chest) I reach over to his left side and began tickling him. He shifted away from my hand and did his best not to laugh. I saw Sheila and Ro with sly grins on their faces. Not just towards me but towards Nick as well. I ignored them as I continued my mission in freeing myself and winning five bucks. Nick would always retreat and bite down on his lip to avoid laughing or even to smile. Sadly, his will power was failing and I finally hit his breaking point.

He let out a hearty laughter as he was gasping, 'Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!" I grinned in victory as he loosened his hold on me.

"Finally!" I shouted as I pulled away from him. He was holding onto his sides, trying to control his laughing. Everyone else was amused by my attempt to get out of Nick's arms.

Sheila piped up, "Damn Chris. I thought you would have loved to be held by your man."

I growled, "He's not my man. Y'all know that."

Alex petted Lazerlemon's head and said innocently, "He doesn't know."

I sighed and told the little ball of yellow fluff, "Nick and I are not together. Ok? We are not. He's not my man and I'm not his girl. Do you understand, pup?" It tilted his head and said 'meep'.

I sighed as the boys laughed. Nick pulled out the five and handed it to me, replying, "I don't think he understands what you're trying to tell him."

I scoffed, "It's hard enough to explain it to everyone else, let alone a puff ball."

He chuckled as I stuffed the money into my pocket. I bounced on the balls of my feet to feel any pain over my injuries. Thankfully, the shot was doing its job and not only gave me strength, but numbed the pain of my wound as well. I grinned as I walked over to the table and got ammo for my combat rifle. I heard Ellis mumble to Ro, "I think they're the only ones who don't know that they're in love with each other."

She replied, "I agree."

Nick and I snapped, "We heard you!" They only grinned when we realized that we're speaking in unison. "Damn it! Stop mimicking me! I hate you!"

Coach stepped in and said, "Ok! Enough, you two. Let's get going."

We nodded and followed the others outside the safe room. We had to cut through the sugar mill and back onto the road. The rain was coming down faster, causing Lazerlemon to retreat into Alex's jacket pocket to avoid getting wet. As we blasted common infected through the building, we all heard the faint crying of witches. As we slipped into the mill itself, we silently gasped as this place was covered in witches. We all huddled to together in silent terror as we scanned the mill for all of the witches. Most of them were wandering witches, but some were just sitting in our path. This is our most difficult run yet.

I muttered silently to myself, "Fuck. My nightmare is coming true. At least the many witches part is."

Ellis replied, "Let's hope there's no crazed witch, ready to go all 'Predator' on…you know who."

I nodded, "Me too."

He looked back at the witches and whispered, "Man, I'm goin' start cryin' soon."

Nick added his own comment, "The last time I saw so many crying women was at my wedding."

I quipped at the con man, "Would that be an insult or a comment on your part?"

He glared at me, which made me cringe a little. "I say it's both. Now shut up and let's go."

I pulled out my axe and ventured forward. Nick respected my bravery, but when a witch began to moan, he immediately pulled me behind him. I rolled my eyes and thought, "A little over-protective, huh? I know too many over-protective guys already: top two are Marshall and my father." Just the thought of my father made me melancholy. I wish I could have saved him and my mom, but I was too late to do anything. Ellis noticed my sudden shift in my mood, so he tapped my shoulder.

"Hey. Are you 'k, Chris?"

I nodded, trying to avoid talking. We need to stay quiet so we won't disturb any of the witches. Besides, I think my voice was creaking from sorrow, so if I talked, it would have been a sure-fire sign I was upset with something.

We traveled around the machinery single file and made it up to the command room or office or whatever it was called. Sadly, a witch was wandering towards us! We stayed against the side of the room and remained deadly silent and still. The witch got so close to Sheila and Ellis, he gripped her hand, either in terror or for protection. The witch's breath blew into their hair as they stared wide-eyed, praying that they will survive these ordeal. After a few seconds of intense waiting, the witch began to sob away from our chain of survivors. We all softly sighed in relief. It didn't last.

Thanks to the dust and sugar particles in the air, Ellis inhaled some and sneezed. Nick, on pure instinct, said, "Gesundheit." The witch snapped her head towards Nick and charged towards him, screaming and crying with her bloody claws in the air. "Shit!" he screamed. All of a sudden, he was tackled out of the way by someone. He fell on his hands and knees and growled, "What the hell?" His anger immediately cooled when he saw who took the witch for him: me.

The witch slashed my chest with her claws, forcing me down to one knee. "Shit! Get this witch off me!" I yelled as I shot at her with my Magnum. Ro and Ellis pelted her with lead until she stopped screaming and fell to the side, dead.

I struggled to stand up, but Nick grabbed a hold of my arm and said in an affectionate tone, "You didn't need to take a witch for me. You know that, right?"

I growled at his sudden concern, "No. I didn't. Enlighten me next time. Maybe I'll kill a Tank for ya! Self-sacrifice is in my nature, but for you? What the hell came over me!"

He just stared at me as I ranted, knowing that deep in my heart, I was glad I did it. He hissed as he saw the slashes on my chest, "Damn. Those like bad."

I growled as I pointed to my eyes, "Eye contact, up there, jackass!"

He looked up and huffed, "I know that! But your eyes aren't bleeding like crazy! Those scratches are and you need health fast or you'll die!"

I snapped, "Tell me something I don't know, Nick! Fuck! The one place I had to get scratched! Why not the arm or the stomach? But no, it had to be the fucking chest! My tits hurt like fucking hell! Fuck me!"

Ellis quipped, "That's a little too fast for Nick." Sheila smacked the back of his head as a result.

Nick rolled his eyes at my swearing rant and ushered Sheila and Ro to him. "Stay with Chris. She's too pissed off for saving my life and she's bleeding out fast. The quicker we get to a safe room, the faster you two can patch her up. I'd do it myself, but sadly, I can't get that close because…fuck, must I really explain why?"

Sheila chuckled, "No, Nick. We get it. Girls have tits. Guys don't. That's why. Moving on."

Ro added, "Don't worry about her Nick. She'll be fine once she's patched up. You're right; let's get moving before the storm closes in on us or Chris passes out from blood loss."

He nodded and the chain of survivors cautiously navigated through factory of the sugar mill without disturbing anymore witches. Nick was grateful for that. I did my best to keep my head in the fight, but my vision was getting blurry and the blood continued to flow out of my open wounds. Sheila and Ro stayed with me the whole time and whenever there was an adrenaline shot or pills nearby, they would give them to me. The group had to go up into the mill itself, which is a large building and had to call the elevator. Everyone shoved me into the cage of the elevator. I huffed, stubborn to fight, but even I knew I didn't have the strength if hit hard. They formed a barrier around me, protecting me as they killed zombies left and right. As soon as I felt the cage open, I fell inside and ushered everyone on. I hit the button to take us down and we looked beyond into the sugar cane field. My breathing suddenly was going very shallow and was getting harder to inhale regularly.

I wheezed, "Shit. Come on, bitch. You're no quitter. You can survive this scenario."

Nick looked over me with worry in his emerald eyes. Ellis knew that I was special to him. He sighed, "Chris, I'm going have to carry you again."

I wheezed again, "Fuck that. I'll walk on my own two feet."

Coach shook his head with disapproval, "Quit pushing yourself, Chris. You can hardly walk a straight line right now. Just let Nick help you out."

I groggily replied, "No."

As soon as the elevator hit the bottom and the grate opened, Nick grumbled, "Like it or not, I'm carrying ya!"

I hissed, "Over my dead body!"

Ro spoke with extreme urgency, "That's what you'll be if you won't let Nick help you."

All of a sudden, I got tunnel vision as the remains of my strength immediately faded. Darkness engulfed my vision as I whispered, "Oh shit" and hit the floor of the elevator with a hard thud. Everyone panicked. Nick scooped up my fainted form into his arms and bolted out of the elevator. Everyone else followed the determined con artist.

Ellis barked over the incoming storm, "Cut through the field! Keep going! Don't stop! Go, go, go!"

Nick didn't stop for anything. He had only one thing on his mind: get me to safety and revive me. Ro and Sheila ran ahead of him to clear his path of all zombies and led him into the safe room. Coach and Ellis protected his back while they jogged behind him. Once they made it to the gas station, Ellis barricaded the door, while Coach guarded the windows from any infected ready to break the glass. Nick went into the safe room and gingerly placed me on the floor, using his jacket for a pillow for my head. He placed his hand on my forehead and spoke as if it was a prayer, "Don't worry, sweetheart. You're going to be ok. God spare her."

Sheila quipped as he stood up, "Tenth time. She would have said that." Nick didn't even chuckle as he left the safe room, so Ro and Sheila could patch me up. Sheila asked, "Is she knocked out or dying?"

Ro shrugged, "I don't know." She placed her index and middle fingers against a vein in my neck and counted the beats. The results weren't good at all. She whispered, "She's barely hanging on to life here. We need to work fast." As they quickly prepped med kits and a defib unit from the safe room, they were unaware that I took my last breath before slipping away into the darkness called death.

I groaned as bright light attacked my eyes. "Ow! Shit! Too bright! Too bright!"

A gruff voice replied, "So you're one of the new survivors?"

I let my eyes adjust before completely opening them. A male stood before me. He was clearly older than 50 years old, thanks to his white hair and scruffy white-grey beard and mustache. He was smoking a cigarette and had an Assault Rifle in his hands. He was decked out in a Green Beret outfit, with a name tag that said "Overbeck" on it. He looked down on me and asked, "Well? Are you going to answer me?"

I growled, "Yeah. I am. Who are you, soldier?"

He rested the barrel of his M-16 against his shoulder and replied with a small smile, "William Overbeck. Vietnam veteran and zombie slayer."

I quipped, "Small world. I've been slaying zombies for weeks, but I've never seen you before. And why does the name 'Overbeck' sound so familiar to me?"

He took his cig and tossed it to the ground. As he stomped it out with his boot, he answered, "I was the soldier you wrote to when you were in middle school…Christina Annabelle Starly."

I gasped, "How do you know who I am? I never met you in real life! Wait, I'm the student who wrote to you?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I think I still have one of your letters in my pocket…back at my body. Oh well. They always made me laugh."

I smiled at his comment. This not everyday someone commented me on one of my hidden talents: writing. But the fact that he knew who I was after all of these years made me confused, "Wait. You know me when I was around…12 or 13 years old. How could you recognize me now, when I'm 30?"

He wiggled his finger as he closed his eyes calmly, "I've been watching you, as a request from your mother and step-dad. They were able to point you out to me. Call me your…guardian NamVet. I refuse to be called an 'angel'. It doesn't fit me."

I titled my head in confusion, "I have no step-dad. Travis Starly is my real father."

He raised his hands in innocence, "Sorry. Anyway, I've been looking over you and I must say, you've got a quick temper and an itchy trigger finger. A lot like me. I must ask though, were you ready to die?"

My eyes widened at his question, "Why would you ask such a thing? Yeah. I lived a good life. And what better way to die than self-sacrifice?"

Bill face-palmed himself, snapping, "You're too young and hardly achieved a thing in your life! You didn't fall in love, leave a legacy behind, make a good living, or faced the truth about your family!"

I defended, "What do you know about my family that I don't!"

He sighed, "You need to go back and find out for yourself. I will say this: you're not the last Starly. Oh, promise me that you'll open up to that Nick fella. He cares for you…a lot."

I huffed as I crossed my arms, "Tell me something I don't know, Bill."

Bill replied, "You love him. And your body is about to get zapped. Brace yourself, Chris. Remember, I'll be watching."

"Wait, Bill! What about-"

The sudden electric current entered my heart, shooting through every vein in my body, causing me to yelp in pain. Bill smiled as he quickly faded away and the bright light went "whoosh!" past my vision. It was like watching me going backwards through a swift tunnel. I gasped as the zap from the defib unit pulled me out of the light and back onto the floor. I opened my eyes and blurrily saw Sheila and Ro grinning ear-to-ear to see that the defib unit worked in bringing me back to life. My vision cleared and I was able to breathe right again. "Whoa! What a rush!" I said as I cleared my head.

Sheila whispered, "Shhh! Stay quiet! Nick doesn't need to know that you 'died'. He'd flip. Don't mention the defibrillator, ok?"

I nodded hazily. "Sure. As long as you don't zap me again. That hurt like hell." I looked down and noticed that my chest felt heavier than normal. I rolled up my shirt and saw thick, red-stained gauze wrapped around my chest. I softly touched it and to my surprise, it hardly hurt. "Wow. You two are miracle workers."

Ro warned, "Careful. We had to use stitches for the bigger gashes. You gotta love modern medicine."

"I do. Thanks you guys. I promise I won't do anything stupid while the stitches are in place."

Sheila quipped, "It's weird. I'm the klutz, but you're the one always in harm's way."

I cocked my eyebrow and glared at her. She and Ro laughed because that fact was true. Ever since the swamp, I've been the injured one. Damn it; if Bill is watching over me, make me stronger so I can survive this goddamn apocalypse!

Lazerlemon leaped into the safe room through the window and landed on my knee. He 'meeped' and bounced around the room. Ro picked him up and petted his little fuzzy head. She turned to Sheila and nodded. Sheila nodded back and opened the door to let the guys in. I quickly rolled down my shirt and stretched my aching limbs.

Nick kneeled beside me, asking, "Do you feel ok?" He collected his jacket and slipped it on.

I grinned, "I feel great! I feel like a million bucks! I'm ready to get this show on the road!"

Nick smiled as I leaped to my feet with my newly-energized legs and picked up a diesel can on the shelf. Everyone followed my example and grabbed a can of diesel gas. Lazerlemon hopped out of Ro's hand and back onto Alex, who giggled at the little creature. He crawled into his pocket when a big thunder clap echoed through the dark station. The clap startled all of us. That only meant one thing: we have to walk back to the dock in the middle of a storm. I quickly prayed to myself, "Bill, please allow us to make it through this storm without any mishaps or casualties. Amen, soldier."

As we prepared for the trip back, Coach asked, "Did you pray for our safety?"

I sighed, "Yeah. I was so close to death, that I saw the light. But I didn't die, so now I'm being a little more…careful. Praying helps."

He patted my back and replied, "Good job, Chris. Let's hope an angel is watching over us."

I muttered under my breath, "More like a soldier." Thankfully, Coach didn't hear me.

We ran into the storm. Since it was so windy, I had to keep my hood off. Instead, to hold back my hair, I had to take off the blue strap and use it as a temporary hair tie. Thankfully it was too dark and rainy to notice the scar. We noticed that the storm had times when it was at its peaks or most dangerous points.

The first one was when we were running through the sugar cane field again. I shouted, "Storm's hitting hard!"

Nick grabbed my hand and shouted, "Stay together!"

We stayed as close together as possible, but sometimes that wasn't even an option. When we did get separated, the group would be split into two pairs and one group of three. Nick and I stayed together, while Ellis and Sheila braved the storm together. Coach, Ro and Alex was the trio. Whenever the peak was over, I would have to wiggle my hand out of Nick's grip and continue to back-track to the dock.

Through the sugar mill was easy, but not so easy when we had to go back through the factory. First, it's still full of witches and second, the ground is starting to flood! Instead of cautiously going through single file, we just rushed through there as fast as we can. The less interaction with witches, the better.

Even the safe room was getting flooded. At least the lower level was. We took a small five minute break, so we can catch our breath and reload. Alex said as he looked out the window, "We should stay above water. We can use the roof tops and scale them to the dock."

Ro replied, "Well, it'll be faster than waddling through the water. Let's be careful though. Shingles are slippery when they're wet."

Ellis commented, "That's good to know. Ok, y'all. We know what we must do. Let's go!"

The bar came down and we rushed out of the safe room. The very first ladder we saw was near the construction site, but the ladder was slippery too. As soon as Alex jumped onto it, he hit his head against one of the rungs and stumbled into a ditch. He landed on a water pipe…right between the legs. Ellis, Coach and Nick immediately went "Ohh!" as we grabbed their own nuts in mock pain. He screamed in agony as he finished the fall into the muddy ditch. All of us looked down in horror, because we knew if we didn't hurry, he can drown if it fills up with rain water.

Ellis shouted, "Try to climb out!"

He clawed into the wall and tore a chuck out of it. "It's made of mud! I can't climb out!"

Coach asked, "What are we going to do now! We can't leave him down there!"

A very familiar coughing got my attention. I looked around for the Smoker and found it on the roof of a nearby trailer. I grinned as an idea popped into my head. I'm going to trick the Smoker into getting Alex out of the flooding ditch.

I barked, "Hey! Smoker! Over here, you walking smoke stack!"

It looked at me and growled then coughed. I began taunting it and made funny faces at it. He was getting pissed at me and it unleashed its tongue at me. I smiled as I prayed to Bill (again) I was going to survive the little stunt I was going to pull. Just before the tongue got a chance to wrap around me, I back-flipped to the other side of the ditch, causing the tongue to fall down into the ditch.

I yelled to everyone, "Grab the tongue! Quick!" Nick was still in awe, but Sheila snapped him out of it and followed my instructions. Coach and I ran to catch the Smoker, who looked horrified over the stunt I performed. Coach grabbed its arms as I stood in front of it. I commanded, "If you cooperate with us, we'll let you live. Do I make myself clear!"

Coach criticized, "Chris, you're talking to a zombie! He's too stupid to understand what you're trying to do!"

To Coach's surprise, the Smoker nodded his head and wheezed. "Good! Coach, you get to be his anchor. Hold onto him and pull backwards when I give the signal." He nodded and I ran back to the "tongue holders". "Ok, guys. When Alex is ready, we'll pull him up and out of there using the Smoker's tongue." I got as close to the edge as I could without falling in and shouted, "Alex! Grab the tongue! We'll pull you out!"

He shouted back, "Ok!" He wrapped his arm around the tongue and held onto it like a fireman's pole. "I'm ready! Hurry! The water's up to my hips!"

I nodded and shouted, "Now! Pull!" Everyone began pulling backwards, causing Alex to be lifted out of the water, slowly. I yelled to Coach, "Keep going back! Keep pulling back!" I then grabbed the tongue and began pulling as well. It was like a game of tug-o-war, except if one end fails, the other one can die.

After the last, muscle-straining tug on the tongue, Alex appeared over the edge, wet and very muddy. He rolled away from the ditch and we all let our legs fall to the ground, exhausted from the task. Coach let go of the Smoker, who scampered away, snapping his tongue off in the process. Lazerlemon hopped out of his wet pocket and growled in annoyance to his wet fur. However, he found warm comfort in Nick's coat pocket. Nick was too tired to be pissed off right now.

Alex finally stood up and groaned at his condition. "I'm all muddy and gross!"

I snapped, "Better muddy and gross than dead, Alex!"

He looked down and slowly nodded. "Ok. Point taken. Thanks for saving me, guys."

Coach replied, "You're welcome, boy. Now come on. That storm is getting worse."

We looked into the sky and got pelted by the rain. We stood up and began moving again. However, the storm got so bad; we were forced to take shelter in a flooded home. Oh well; at least there's a roof over our heads. We healed and washed Alex of all of the mud he had on him. Nick sat down on the couch and yawned, "Jesus! We're not even at the dock and yet we're still tired as hell. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."

I yawned as well, because yawning is contagious. "I know, Nick. I feel your pain, man…and more."

He looked up, "More? What more?"

"More pain. I was so close to death, Nick. I'm just lucky. Hmm. Lucky in strip poker and lucky in escaping death. Cool."

He cocked his eyebrow, "Death is not cool, Chris."

I sighed, "I know. I shouldn't take life for granted. I know that now."

He sat up, "Good. You sure are acting different. That near-death experience must have affected your attitude."

I teased, "You should try it, Nicky."

He groaned as he fell back onto the couch, "How many times am I going to say this? Don't call me 'Nicky'!"

"Hey! You call me 'sweetheart' every chance you get!"

Sheila jumped in, "Ten times he said it."

I turned to her, "I counted nine times."

Sheila explained, "Your near-death experience caused him to say it for the tenth time."

"Really? That's it?"

Sheila realized the game I was playing. She grinned, causing Nick to gulp, "He also said that he would never forgive himself if you died. He even said 'I love you'!"

He quickly barked, "I did not! I never said that!"

She countered, "Oh like you weren't thinking it! I saw you holding her hand in the storm! It's a lot easier to just admit it!"

He huffed, "I admit nothing!"

She sighed, "Fine. Keep lying to yourself. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

I have to admit that teasing Nick like this is fun as hell. But, I believing that Bill was right; Nick truly cares for me. Holding my hand is one sign. Saving me from the plantation is another. Killing the Smoker on the Screamin' Oak as well. Lazerlemon shook me out of my thoughts and hopped onto my star tattooed hand and shimmied up my arm. I petted the little wet fluff ball and he purred with affection. Alex began shouting, "Lazerlemon! Where are you? Lazerlemon!"

I shouted back, "I've got him, Alex! He's with me!"

He came running and scooped him up in his hands. "Don't go running off like that! I was so scared that you were still in the ditch!"

Lazerlemon looked down in sorrow as Alex ranted at him. I butted in, "Relax, Alex. He was perfectly fine. He crawled into Nick's pocket to escape the rain."

He cooled down a little as he tickled Lazerlemon under his chin. I smiled at the redneck and his pet. It's good to see that happiness can still be seen in these bleak times. Even if the little puff ball is going to grow up into a vicious hooded killer…and kill me, because I'm the one who killed his parents. Sadly, they don't look much different from every other Hunter except for the Hunter who scarred me. That fire ball won't be seen again. I hope.

Lazerlemon hopped out of Alex's hand again and grabbed a long of my pant leg. I looked down and saw him, trying to shimmy up. I giggled in amusement as I lowered my rifle barrel to his level. He hopped onto it and got a free ride into my pocket. I thought, "This little guy has a thing for pockets."

I looked over to Sheila who was looking at Ellis. I smiled, knowing that my friend loved him. A city girl and a country boy; both from different worlds and upbringings. He looked towards Sheila, but quickly looked away and blushed. I chuckled to myself, thinking, "He's shy."

I walked over to Ellis and whispered, "Come on! Make a move!"

He shoved me and barked, "Oh shut up!"

I knew violence was a cover-up for him, so I decided to act cool. "Ok, man. Whatever."

Ro walked over to Nick and knocked his legs off the couch, so she could sit down. "Nick, when are you going to say something to Chris?"

He was annoyed enough already, so he wasn't in the mood to talk. "Never will! Get off my case!"

I heard him yelling, so I butted in, "Ro, leave him alone. Now's not the time for love or emotions."

She only looked at me with a face that said "hypocrite". I just rolled my eyes and walked into the bathroom. Once the door was closed, I lifted my shirt and saw the damage for the second time. The bandages were dark red and dry, so that means the bleeding has stopped. I sighed as I thought, "Why did I take a witch for Nick? It killed me!" I rolled my shirt down and walked out. What I didn't know is that Lazerlemon decided to check out the sink, so he leaped out of my pocket and landed inside with a surprised 'meep!'

Coach saw me walk out and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Let's get to the dock before it gets too dark."

I walked beside the couch and ruffled Nick's hair to gain his attention. When he looked up with a scowl, I just pointed to the window and tapped my gun. He nodded and announced, "Come on, people. Let's get moving."

As we walked out of the house Ellis called "Hold on guys. Let me get something." So we all waited as Ellis emerged with a tactical shotgun with a red dot sight.

"Where did you get that Ellis!" Alex asked.

"It was in the closet of the bedroom." Ellis explained.

"MEEP" Lazerlemon shouted. He was still in the house, in the bathroom. Alex then went out of the group to go retrieve him then plopped him into his pocket.

"What did I tell you about getting lost! I was very worried about you. So stay in the group." Alex told him. Lazerlemon meeped in reply then squirmed into Alex's pocket.

We were able to trek back to the Burger Tank when Nick's original question came into our heads: How are we going to signal Virgil? Coach had his heart in the right place: the neon sign. He shimmied up the ladder and turned on the sign, causing it to light up and slowly rotate. This will not only get Virgil's attention, but also the hordes' attention as well.

Coach was followed by Ro, Nick, and Alex, while Ellis, Sheila, and I stayed on the ground, inside the fast food restaurant. We loaded up our weapons and grinned. "Let the brains fly!" Sheila shouted as the horde came running our way.

These hordes are getting harder and harder to destroy, especially since more and more Tanks come in. Every time there was a Tank, I would shout to whoever had a Molotov to throw it on the beast. Most of the time, my voice was drowned out, thanks to all of the madness. On occasion, one of my team mates would hear me and follow my advice. However, even a flaming Tank was still dangerous.

Once we heard the boat horn go off, we all began fighting our way to the dock. Sadly, so was a Tank, eager to attack someone. He decided to attack Ellis and Sheila, swinging his giant arm at them. Sheila was able to strafe to the side, but Ellis wasn't so lucky. He got the wind knocked out of him when the arm swung into his body. Ellis went flying, screaming, "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" past the boat and into the river.

Sheila and Alex, screamed, "Ellis!"

Without a second thought, Sheila jumped into the water after him. Nick panicked, "Is she fucking crazy!"

I shouted over the noise, "You don't know Sheila very well, do ya?"

That Tank swung his arm again and hit Alex onto the boat. Little Lazerlemon screamed through the whole flight. "MEEEEEEEP!"

I took out my axe and charged towards the Tank. "Time to die!" I barked as I jumped and sunk my axe into his fleshy back. He screamed in pain and spun around, causing me to fly off to the side. However, that didn't kill my growing anger. I sprang up to my feet and grabbed a crowbar. "Hey! I'm still alive, you whale-fucker!" The Tank turned around and roared. Nick, Coach, and Ro watched in horror as the Tank charged towards me. I only gripped the crowbar tighter and waited until he was about to attack. I quickly leaped up and drove the crowbar into his zombie-diseased brain. As he fell dead, I bellowed, "That's for Ellis and Alex!"

Sheila finally emerged with Ellis clinging onto life from his watery grave. Coach and Nick helped Sheila drag his body onto dry land, while Ro and I fought off the zombies. Sheila asked Coach, "Didn't you pick up a defib-unit earlier?"

Coach replied, "Hey! You're right, girl! Here! Use it quick!"

She rubbed the chest paddles together, sobbing as she stared at Ellis's still form. "Don't die on me, Ellis!" she cried as she pressed the paddles against his chest, hoping to jump-start his heart. At first, it did nothing, but a millisecond later, his eyes snapped open and gagged on water. Sheila was so happy, that she embraced his coughing form. "Thank God you're ok! I was so worried!"

He wheezed, "Thanks, *cough* Sheila. I do *cough cough* need *cough* air to *cough* breathe!" She let him go and helped him to his feet, escorting him to the boat. Coach covered them, while Nick ran back to collect Rochelle and I.

"Ro! Chris! Let's go! Fall back!" he shouted over our gunfire.

Ro heard him and hit my shoulder lightly, "Come on, Chris. Let's get out of this hellhole!"

I barked in anger, "Not until every one of these motherfuckers die!"

Ro was taken aback by my rage, so she tried to snap me out of it. "Chris! You're crazy! Let's go!" She grabbed my left arm and tried to pull me away, but I only snarled as I pulled my arm away. She knew something was wrong. Then she saw the Hunter. "Oh shit."

Nick came running and hissed, "Let's go, girls! The boat's waiting for us!"

Ro replied, "Chris is in her Hunter mode! There's no way I can snap her out of it!"

Nick muttered, "Shit!" Thinking fast, he grabbed my hood and dragged me back.

I hissed, "What the fuck, Nick? Let me destroy that creature that has made my life a living hell!"

He snapped, "No! Come on! Live to fight another day! Come on, bitch!"

I growled as I back-pedaled towards the boat. Nick and Ro followed. Nick knew I would never get this mad on purpose. He sighed as he thought, "Time for the truth to come out."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Sorry that I didn't have an author's note on the last chapter. That's my bad. Here's chapter 7, one of my favorites. It already got great feedback on Quizilla, so I hope it'll get the same here. ValvE owns Left 4 Dead 2 characters, including Nick...for now! From the previous chapter, Hunters pups were not my idea. They belong to perpetualfrustation on Deviantart. Only the OC pup, Lazerlemon belongs to me.**_

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

_**Chapter 7: Chris's True Story**_

We ran to the boat, while Ellis coughed up a lung. When everyone got on, I could hardly contain myself when I bellowed, "Those fucking zombies! They'll all die!" I unloaded every one of my rifle's magazines into the swarming horde near the dock. By the time the last bullet left the barrel of my weapon, I saw the Hunter howl on top of the Tank Burger sign. I snarled in frustration and failure, "Mother-fucking, son of a bitch! That fucking Hunter made me this wreck! The whole fucking infection did!"

Nick was about to approach me, but Sheila quickly said, "Don't do it, Nick. Let her vent. She's been through a lot. The sad thing is that she wasn't like this when the infection hit. "

Nick faced her and replied, "Really? If I can, then I want to help her."

Coach replied, "I agree with Sheila. Leave her alone." Nick sighed as he continued to watch me rant about the infected and that Hunter. He sat down on the other side of the stern and observed my aggressive manner. Sheila brought Ellis into the cabin so she can dry him off. The last thing we need was a survivor sick with the cold. Coach, Ro, and Alex followed suit, leaving Nick alone with me.

About 15 minutes of explosive and explicit venting, I grabbed the boat's side and began panting. I untied the blue band and let my hair hang down. The rain wasn't as bad as it was 15 minutes ago, but it was still getting me wet. I looked behind me and only Nick was in the rain with me. This fact shocked me. He looked up and weakly grinned.

"Hey", he said to me.

"Hey", I replied back. Why is he still out here, while everyone else is inside? I don't get it. Since he's seen my scar already, I wasn't in a rush to tie the blue band back on. "I need to be alone right now, Nick."

He shook his head stubbornly. "No. You need to talk. Outbursts don't happen on the spot overnight. You are bugged by your past and I want to help. Let me help you, Chris."

My ears went into shock. Nick wants to help me? On his own free will? No, this can't be. But still, maybe it's time I stopped being so shadowy and let Nick see who I really am inside my vengeful soul.

I sighed. I turned around to face Nick and I began walking towards the side of the stern. Nick followed me and sat down beside me.

Nick asked, "Why are you like this? I mean, Sheila told me you were never like this before the infected hit. What made you change?"

I replied, "It was the Hunter. You've seen him before."

He shook his head, "Dig deeper. Beyond the Hunter."

I looked down and whispered, "I'd rather not go so far into my past. It's full of hatred, pain, and sorrow."

Nick slid closer to me, his eyes pleading. "Tell me. You can trust me now. We're allies in this apocalypse."

I nodded without looking at him. "I know I can trust you, but venting my feelings in a non-violent way has always been a challenge for me to do."

Nick leaned back against the side and calmly replied, "Better late than ever. I don't want you falling to pieces before we get rescued. All of us would be very upset to see you flipping out in a middle of a horde or a Tank attack and you're brutally slaughtered before our eyes. I would personally feel devastated if you died."

I looked up in shock, "Really, Nick?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I'll admit, for a girl…er…I mean woman; you are one of the best shooters I've ever seen. I remember when we were dying to insult or hurt each other, but now, that thought doesn't even come to my mind. You know; a love/hate relationship."

Even though he didn't mean "love, love", I still grinned a little, while my face grew a little red. He's right; we did have a love/hate relationship. I sighed again and said, "Fine. I'll tell you what happened before the Hunter." I sensed him grinning in victory.

"I've heard about the infection on the news before it came down South. I was living in Miami at the time, graduated from college, and living on my own. My parents asked me to babysit my younger siblings because they had things to do. I was bored, so I agreed to watch them." I took a deep breath, trying to get my stomach out of a knot and the water in my eyes. Nick listened intensely as I continued, "I've got—had three siblings. All younger than me. Mary was about 18 years old. My only brother, Joey, he was 12. The baby of the family, Cindy was about 7 years." Remembering my siblings made me want to cry, but Nick would bear witness to my meltdown so, I stayed strong. "It was a very quiet Sunday afternoon. I was watching TV with Joey and Cindy, while Mary was on the family computer in the corner. There was a strange noise in the air that made me edgy. Joey stood in front of me to show me a trick he could do in gymnastics, but suddenly a Charger smashes through the front door and rammed Joey into the wall, killing him instantly."

Tears were almost at their peak, but I refused to let Nick see me cry like a helpless woman. "I ushered Cindy and Mary through the back door, but we were caught in an ambush. A Smoker was standing on our roof and it wrapped its tongue around Cindy's throat and torso, choking her as it rose her off the ground."

Cindy's helpless face flashed in my head, making me cringe in shame. Nick knew it was painful for me to admit anything. He knew it was killing me inside. "A Jockey attacked Mary and rode her into an old well in the backyard. I can still hear her screaming…"

I quickly wiped my eyes clean as I exhaled raspy. "As for me, a boomer barfed on me, forcing me to retreat. I jumped into my car and blew out of there as fast as I could. Before crossing the state border, I saw my mother and father being burned alive by Spitter acid. I did nothing to help them and I watched as they died a slow and agonizing death. Their screams impaled my ears like nails on a chalkboard. I felt like a coward. A big, fucking coward! Running away and leaving my family behind!"

I choked back tears as much as I could. I clenched my fists around the blue band. Nick reached out and touched my right fist, whispering, "You're not a coward. You never were." He sighed and said sweetly as he opened his arms to me, "Come here."

Without hesitating, I turned around and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer to him. Despite the fact I hate being touched or hugged; I didn't struggle or harm Nick in anyway. His suit was wet from the rain, so I guess it'll be ok to cry on his shoulder. I buried my face into his right shoulder and quietly began sobbing. He ran his hand on top of my damp hair and said, "Let it out. Don't hold back, Chris." He knew I was crying? He's a lot smarter than I give him credit for. My sobbing grew a little louder. "I tried to go like I never knew you. I'm awake, but my world is half asleep. I pray for it's hard to be unbroken, but without you, all I'm going to be is…"

Nick finished the chorus as he gently rubbed my back, "…incomplete!" His voice washed over my sour and gruff attitude. For once, I was happy that Nick was with me. He was being so caring to me. For a rough con artist, he can be kind when it's needed.

Inside the cabin, the others were getting worried. Alex cleaned his butterfly knife and asked, "Did they jump ship or something?" Lazerlemon hopped out of his pocket and said, 'Meep. Meep?'

Ro shook her head, "I doubt that. Chris and Nick aren't that stupid."

Coach turned to Sheila and commanded, "Take a small dash along the deck and find them. Hoping they're not in bloody chucks and pieces."

Ellis looked out the window and nearly exploded with excitement. "Look outside the window!" Everyone rushed to the window and saw us embracing in the rain. Ellis was grinning ear-to-ear, "I knew it! I fucking knew it!"

Ro chuckled, "All she needed was a hug from Nick? Mission complete on his part."

Sheila sighed happily at the sight, "I'm so glad she was able to open up to him." She took the camcorder off her neck and began recording the rare moment. "Now, it'll be smooth sailing from here between those two."

Coach slapped Sheila's back and replied, "Maybe there's something more between them. We saw it since day 1."

She nodded, "I know. But they won't admit it. They're too proud to."

Lazerlemon hopped onto the window pane and saw us. He happily 'meeped' over the sight and began to happily hop up and down like a po-go stick. He was clearly happy that we were finally able to open up. Or in Lazerlemon's mind: being together.

I loosened my grip on Nick's waist when he loosened his. "I hope I didn't hurt your chest wound." I shook my head in response. I felt 100 times better than before. We separated and for some weird reason, the storm past. We looked up into the sky, watching the clouds fade away, revealing thousands of stars over our heads. We smiled at the clear sky as a star winked down upon us. This romantic mood was killed when Nick whipped his soaked hair back and forth, like a wet dog. I used my arm as a shield.

Laughing, I shouted, "Nick! Down boy!" He began laughing with me as he stopped shaking his head. I looked at his hair which went from suave and slick to scruffy and wild. I said, "You can do that look. It shows the loose side of you."

He smiled at me and replied, "I see you're in a far better mood. Is this the Chris that Sheila knows?"

I scratched my neck and blushed, "Maybe."

He cocked his eyebrow and repeated, "Maybe?"

"Well, I was living the good life until that day. I was very happy, perky, spirited, and funny. Nowadays, I'm vengeful, cold, vicious, merciless, and bitchy. Wait a second…" I looked up at Nick and beamed at my discovery, "You bring out the best in me!"

He stood back and asked, "Come again?"

I was so excited that I almost leaped at him, "Don't you see? Sure, we used to clash heads all the time, but lately, we're becoming a badass team. When I'm with you, I feel a little better inside. We both put up these badass barriers to prevent our emotions from escaping. But together, we see through the illusion. See it, Nick?" He absorbed all of our interaction and nodded. I was right. To protect ourselves, we act big-and-bad, but when we're together, we can be ourselves.

Sheila called from the cabin, "Nick! Chris! Time to sleep!" We both groaned like little kids. After a few seconds, she came out with Ro.

I cocked my head to the side and asked, "Why? I'm not tired." I yawned and Nick snickered a little.

"You stand corrected, Chris", he quipped.

I playfully hit him, replying, "Shut up, Nick. You're just as tired as me."

He yawned, "So? At least I'm not denying it."

Ro decided to break up our banter, "Alright you two. Nick, the guys are sleeping in the cabin, since we lost the coin toss…again."

I eyed Nick, "Do you have a fixed coin?"

He shook his head and replied with a small grin, "Nope. I swear to God."

Sheila said, "Nick, you head into the cabin. Chris, you must remain out here with us."

Nick was about to walk away, but he turned around to face me. It looked like he wanted to do something, but his legs and arms were shaking and he had a sheepishly grin on his face. Finally, he managed to say, "Night, Chris."

I replied, "Night, Nick. Thanks for listening to me. I needed it."

He smiled a real smile as he replied, "You're welcome. See you tomorrow, sweetheart." I rolled my eyes as he said, "Sweetheart." Apparently, that's his nickname for me.

"Eleventh time", I quipped at him. He chuckled in response.

Once he disappeared into the cabin, Sheila and Ro couldn't stop staring at me. Awkwardly, I asked, "What? Keep staring. I might do a trick."

Ro just casually replied, "Nothing. We just wanted to know what happened between you and Nick. We all saw you embracing in the rain."

My face flushed as I heard her words. "Are you serious?"

She nodded, "Yep. No lie. We all saw you two hugging." She tapped the camcorder, immediately turning my face pale. "It was so romantic."

I growled at the mere thought of being romantic. "I'm not romantic! And I'll never be!" I screamed in my head. I did, said out loud, "He just wanted to help me out with my meltdown. That's all. Now, I need the sleep. I'll feel a lot better in the morning."

Sheila rolled her eyes as she muttered, "Say what you want. You're falling for Nick."

I decided to ignore her comment, because half of me knew it was true. I curled up to one side of the stern and crunched up my jacket into a ball, like I did last night. However, tonight was breezy and colder than the night before, so let's hope I don't get too cold.

_~It was a cold, winter-like setting at the sugar mill, minus the witches. The Hunter was prowling over my head, on the pipes and catwalks. I growled at the creature and barked, "Come down and face me!" He nodded and leaped down in front of me with no recoil damage from the fall. He looked at me and bared his bloodied teeth at me. I bared my own teeth at him as my scar began burning again. However, my scar began glowing yellow as my whole body began transforming. It was becoming scaly, stronger, faster, and heavier. My human self was transforming into a yellow dragon. (Three guesses for my die-hard readers who it is!) However, the Hunter transformed into a dragon as well. However, he had a more serpent-like body with the hoodie still covering his features. He didn't have wings, but he had incredibly long claws and a saber on the tip of his tail. He had scarlet-red scales and a dirty green under belly. Time for me to conquer this bastard!_

_Since this was all a dream, the fight was one-sided: me. Too wounded to fight, the Hunter/dragon crashed to the floor, bleeding from his wounds. I hovered down and averted back into my human form. I approached the creature, whose wounds were regenerating and asked, "What do you want?" He looked up and smiled a real smile. Not a grin, not a smirk, but a real sweet smile. As he did, the winter landscape became to feel warm and soft. He stood up and pulled his hood back. It was Nick! I gasped as my eyes widened with surprise for a split second. _

_He replied in a soft, loving voice, "You. I want you." He began walking towards me, but I took a few steps backwards, a little shocked by his answer. _

_I shouted to wake myself up, "Wake up, damn it! You know the real Nick would hit you! Wake up, Chris!"_

_Sadly, it wasn't working. I backed into a wall, which dream Nick rose up with a wave of his hand. "What are you? A Jedi!" I barked as he advanced. He just grinned and waved his hand back, forcing my body forward towards him. "Damn it! 'Star Wars', dragons, and zombies! What's next? A Predalien?" I growled as I crashed into Nick's torso. He looked down on me and smiled while he brushed a lock of my hair away from my face. He wrapped his right arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. My hands were pressed against his chest; my whole body was so close to his. He placed his forehead against mine, which surprised me because the scar didn't hurt under the slight pressure on it. _

"_Don't fight me, Christina. Let your hatred go and embrace my love. I love you", he whispered. I was speechless. Was this still Dream-land or were this Nick's true thoughts and feelings? I still believe my first answer. Nick's too stubborn to admit anything, let alone emotions for anyone. Especially me._

_Without warning, he leaned in and softly kissed me on the lips. Explosions and Hunter pups with angel wings swirled around us like a tornado of fire and heat. My heart was skipping every two beats. His lips were so soft, but passionate at the same time. I melted in his embrace, breathless by his kiss. However, before I had a chance to kiss him back, he pulled back and vanished in a whirlwind of fire and ice. All that was left was me and the Hunter, who was separated from Nick at the last second. He looked up at me like a confused dog and tilted his head. I just shrugged my shoulders to the dumb-struck animal, because I was too dumb-struck to answer him. However, I smiled and sighed romantically at the memory of the kiss. It's official; I'm in love with Nickolas Rowker the con artist. ~_

Want to know what happened in the real world during this dream? Well, here's the "real" story.

I was shivering against the cold deck, thanks to the crisp air. Since I'm too stubborn to get up and ask for a blanket, I just laid there, shaking, doing my best to maintain my body heat and quit the shivering. My teeth clattered from the cold, creating a little noise among the other noises among the darkness, like the wind blowing and the waves beating against the side of the boat.

Lazerlemon heard my teeth-chattering, so he decided to wake up Nick, since he cares so much. He leaped onto Nick's shoulder and began hopping up and down on it, 'meeping' to wake him up. Finally, Nick stirred as he shooed Lazerlemon off his shoulder. He groaned as he sat up from his slumber and stretched his arms over his head. He yawned and rubbed the sleepiness out of his acid-green eyes. He let his eyes adjust to the darkness before standing up. He scanned around the cabin, seeing that Coach was sleeping like a baby and Alex had his limbs hanging in random spots and positions.

"How can he sleep like that?" Nick thought to himself. However, he did notice that Ellis wasn't among the boys. Nick softly sighed and thought, "Where is that redneck? Is he hanging over Sheila? That horn dog really wants her…badly." He looked through the window to look for Ellis, but he didn't see him. He only saw us girls asleep. Ro was turning her sleep, while Sheila was smiling in hers. He rolled his eyes and thought, "Maybe she's dreaming of Ellis. That girl is as crazy about him as he is about her." He noticed that the two girls had some sort of cover on their bodies, protecting them from the harsh wind and chilling air. That's what I lacked: cover.

Lazerlemon tapped the glass, causing Nick to hush the creature. He was trying to tell him something. The pup pointed to the right and 'meeped'. Nick looked to the right side of the stern and noticed my shaking and curled up body. At first he thought, "She's so stubborn for her own good sometimes." But then he sighed and snuck out of the cabin. The cold air greeted him, causing a chill to shoot down his spine. "Damn! It is cold out here!" he whispered to himself. He tightened the grip on his white jacket as he silently made his way to my sleeping form. He kneeled before my shivering body and his eyes flooded with pity. He thought, "Chris, you don't need this kind of torture. Let me help." He pulled his white jacket off and gingerly placed it on my body. Immediately, my shaking began to subside and my chattering teeth began to slow down. He grinned at himself for caring so much for me. But he was unaware that he was being watched.

Ellis, who just got up to take a piss, saw Nick walk out of the cabin and approach me. He smiled as he took his white coat off and place it on my freezing body. Ellis thought, "You love her, Nick. Quit hiding it and quit denying it."

As if he thought the magic words, he heard Nick whisper, "I love you." Then he gently kissed my left cheek before departing. Ellis quickly blended into the shadows as Nick walking back into the direction of the cabin door. Ellis noticed that Nick had a growing smile on his face as he disappeared into the cabin to resume his sleeping. Ellis scampered to the stern and saw that I too was smiling in my sleep. The redneck grinned to himself as he thought, "Can't wait to see her reaction tomorrow. I bet she'll be in a giddy mood."

Ellis retreated back into the cabin and quickly noticed that Nick was still awake. "Oh…hey Nick", he whispered to the conman.

Nick looked up and replied, "Hey Ellis. Where have you been?"

"Oh. I was just taking a piss. Beer can go through me like water through a hose." Lazerlemon leaped towards Ellis, who quickly caught him in midair. He petted the puff ball on the head before putting him down on the gun bag. The Hunter pup yawned and curled up into the fabric of the bag and fell asleep.

Nick drunkenly nodded as he stared at the ceiling. Ellis was itching for Nick to spill his guts. After all, maybe now he can have a normal talk with the stubborn and sarcastic con artist.

"I saw what you did, Nick."

Nick's eyes snapped towards Ellis with a dangerous glare in them. "You say anything to Chris about it, I'll kill you with my own bare hands. Got it?"

Ellis nodded and responded, "Got it. But you shouldn't be hiding your feelings so much. It'll kill you in the end. They bottle up inside and they'll explode inside."

Nick scoffed softly, doing his best to stay quiet, "Fuck that. If anything's going to kill me out here, it's going to be by zombies. No emotions can kill me. Never had and never will."

Ellis shook his head and whispered, "Admit it, Nick. You love Chris."

"Hell no."

"Hell yeah."

"Fuck no!"

"Fuck yeah!"

"Only when I'm walking to Hell."

"That can be tomorrow for all we know. Come on!"

Nick covered his face with his hands, knowing Ellis wasn't going to give up on his mission to make Nick spill the beans. Finally, he grumbled, "Yes."

Ellis smirked and replied, "What? I didn't hear you."

"Yes. Ok, you finally happy now? I said it!" Nick's loud remarks were stirring Coach and Alex in their sleep. Both Ellis and Nick stayed deathly quiet for awhile, so their friends can stay asleep. For awhile, Ellis thought Nick fell asleep.

"Nick?"

"What?"

"I love Sheila."

"I knew that from Day 1, Ellis."

"Good. Now you officially know."

Nick rolled his eyes at his redneck pal. Of course he knew that Ellis was in love with Sheila. Everyone knew that! Even Sheila could pick up hints that Ellis loves her. However, will Ellis be the first to confess his love or will Sheila be the first to speak? Only God knows the answer to that question.

"Nick?"

"What now, Ellis?"

"I won't say a thing about your love for Chris. Or about what you did. I promise."

He turned his head to Ellis and saw him grin and wink at him, knowing that the secret is between them now. Nick sighed, hoping that Ellis will keep his promise. If not, then he's in for some deep shit in the morning. He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep, dreaming of his love for me. Plus zombies. Hmm. He has bizarre dreams too!


	8. Chapter 8

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

_**Chapter 8: It's Tricky (To Dodge the Bombs!)**_

I slept with a smile on my face for the whole night, but my body had a very lazy vibe to it. The adrenaline of my rage yesterday was completely gone and I truly feel wiped-out. The wind chill didn't bother me anymore, but I didn't really give much thought about it, thanks to my very sweet dream. I slept like a baby.

Ro and Alex were the first ones awake. Alex yawned and stretched as he walked out to stern. "Mornin' Ro! Chilly night, eh?"

She nodded, "Oh yeah. That wasn't fun. Thankfully, there were blankets nearby that Sheila and I grabbed. I, however, didn't see Chris grab one."

He looked in my direction and quickly covered his mouth to avoid laughing too loud. Ro followed his eyes and grinned at the sight. Alex whispered, "Where's Sheila's camcorder?" He looked around for it and saw it in a pile of stuff beside her sleeping body. He quietly grabbed the camcorder and began recording me.

"Today is…hey Ro! What day is it, today?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I lost track of the date since this shit started. Say it's Monday. It sure feels like one."

He nodded as he spoke for the camera, "It's Monday morning, nice and slightly breezy, even for a zombie apocalypse. Anyway, our pal, Chris here is sound asleep and look at what she has for cover." He forgot the camera has a zoom in/zoom out figure, so in order to get closer, he snuck closer to my sleeping form and whispered, "That's our very favorite con man's jacket. Nick's his name and betting is his game. What happened here last night while we slept between these two? Ro, what are your thoughts and comments on this shocking discovery?"

As Alex turned the camera towards Ro, she answered, "I didn't hear her get up at all. So if something did happen, it was all Nick. Or your brother is ballsier than I thought!"

Alex snapped, "You think Ellis did this? C'mon now! He's a very heavy sleeper and besides, why would he do something like this?"

She responded, "Because he really wants these two con artists to be together. He's playing match-maker."

Alex scoffed, "I'm the family match-maker! I'm the Bucker dog, not him! He's in love with Sheila, so he would try to get at her for himself."

I groaned in my sleep over the noise. Ro and Alex automatically turned their heads in my direction, waiting to see what I was going to do. Alex grew impatient and shouted, "Time to get up!"

I flipped him off and growled, "Five more minutes, you prick!" I grabbed the "blanket" that was on my head and flung it over my head to block out the sunlight and noise. Suddenly, I muttered, "Jesus. That Axe is stronger than I thought. Man, it's hard to breathe right. Christ! I need air!" I pulled my head from under it, coughing and gagging from the lack of clear air. Ro and Alex fall to the deck, laughing hysterically. I huffed, "What's so funny, you hyenas?"

Ro asked between breaths, "Did you know that you're covered by Nick's coat?"

I looked at it and said, "Um. All be damned! You're right. That'll explain why I didn't freeze to death last night. I was so cold! What about you, Ro? You got attacked by the chilliness of the night?"

She shook her head, "Nope. Unlike you, I got a blanket so I could stay comfortable. Sheila followed my example."

I stood up and threw the coat over my left shoulder. "Damn. Nick uses way too much Axe! That's a new way to die: death by Axe! Knowing my luck, I would die a stupid or humiliating death like that. Hey, did you know two dudes actually died by chocolate?"

Alex gasped and shouted, "No way! What happened?"

I didn't notice the camera was on at all. I thought Alex was just holding it. Sadly, he caught my whole Death-by-Axe comment on tape. Oops. What? It was a lot of Axe! Still oblivious to the camera, I told him the story, "These two guys who were idiots, locked themselves into a closet or panty and had a cocoa powder fight. The powder was being inhaled into their lungs and they suffocated from it."

Ro chuckled as she remembered something. You don't know this but that story reminded me of something Nick said before we met up with you, Alex and Sheila."

I grinned, "What did he say?"

She answered, "We had to go into the sewers of Rayford and Nick said 'I am breathing shit air into my lungs. It is being absorbed into my bloodstream. I am literally full of shit.' I thought it was hilarious. Let's just say that jacket of his has seen whiter days."

I chuckled as I looked at the coat over my shoulder. I'm surprised that the rain got a lot of the dirt, grime, and blood off of it. However, he must wear Axe Dry or some kind of special Axe because it hasn't lost any of its power. "'Full of shit?' No wonder he looked and acted like a jackass when we first met."

Alex quipped sarcastically, "Naw. Not Nick!"

I chuckled again. Ro and Alex both realize that I'm not in a bitchy mood at all. In fact, I was quite cheery. My new attitude began to creep them out a little. Whatever happened last night definitely put me in high spirits.

Sheila began to stir from her sleep and almost on cue, Ellis came wondering onto the stern. He yawned as he weakly waved to us, "Hey, y'all. What's goin' on?"

Ro replied, "Nothing much. Just recording Chris, talking about chocolate and shit. Remember Rayford?"

Ellis scratched his bed-ridden hair and yawned again. "Yeah. You liked the biker dude! And the sewer! And the wedding. Yeah. Good times."

I shouted, "Wedding? What wedding? I know about the sewer. Who was the biker dude?"

Ellis grinned at me, realizing that he can fuck up my mind if he wanted to. "Nick's wedding. We came across the wedding at the park and Nick paled so white, he was whiter than his coat…which is on your shoulder." I looked at the coat once more and shrugged. Ellis continued, "His bride really was a witch! Aw man! He took off running faster than Road Runner! Damn! It was so funny!"

Ellis's poker face gave it all away; he was lying. I scoffed as I flashed Nick's ring off, "And this ring is my engagement ring. Nice try, Ellis."

Ellis smirked as he countered, "You do know that Alex is recording you right now, right?"

I snapped my head towards Alex and sure enough, the little red light was on the camcorder. I shouted, "Oh shit! How long has that been on?"

He began giggling, "Shortly before you woke up."

Sheila finally woke up and asked, "What now? What did I miss?"

Alex waved the camera and said triumphantly, "Nothing that can't be replayed."

She stood up and leaned on Ellis's shoulder for support. His face turned bright red, but didn't reject it. Alex rewound the tape and showed her all of the details of the past five minutes. She giggled at the part with me gagging from too much Axe. I huffed, "Laugh it up."

Quickly realizing that the camera was occupied, maybe I can safely return Nick's coat without making a scene. I snuck away from the group, watching the tape and snuck into the cabin. Lazerlemon was awake, but Nick and Coach were still asleep. He looked at me and got all happy. He 'meeped' with joy as he scampered across Nick's back and leaped onto my waiting hand. I shushed him, but it was too late. Nick began to stir.

"Shit", I thought. He rolled onto his back and stretched his stiff limbs. He yawned and sensed my presence. He rubbed his eyes and lazily looked up. He grinned and said, "Hey."

I couldn't help grinning back, "Hey. Thanks for your coat." I walked over to the window seat and placed the coat on his lap. He blushed a little as he grabbed his coat off his lap and sat up. I was about to walk out, but he stopped me.

"Hold up. Where are you going?"

I turned around and smirked. In my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, "I'll be back." Nick gave a chuckle. Then the cooler caught my eye. "But the beer won't." I ran over to the cooler and dragged it outside.

Nick threw his arms into the air as he shouted, "Bitch! Bring the beer back! Please?"

I chuckled as I shook my head, "Nope! No more hangovers for you!"

He groaned like a little kid not getting his own way. I only laughed as I dragged the cooler onto the stern. Ellis beamed, "Yeah! Beer!" He ran to the cooler and pulled out a cold one. I shrugged, "Sheila gets to deal with your hangovers. I've had it with them."

He smirked, "Yeah. Remember that '7 minutes in Heaven' game at the Burger Tank?"

I felt my leg and winced at the memory. I grumbled, "More like '7 minutes in Hell'. That's why I dragged the cooler out here. So Nick can't get any of it."

Someone grabbed my shoulder and quipped into my ear, "I can simply get up and come out here for a beer, sweetheart."

I blushed a little for Nick being so close to me and quipped back, "Twelfth time. Nick."

He chuckled, "Don't deny it. You like it when I call you that." He looked over to the cooler and pulled out a beer.

I crossed my arms over my chest and countered, "Then you must love it when I call you 'Nicky' or 'Nicko'."

Our banter made Ellis snicker, thanks to the fact that he knows the truth. His snickering was caught by Nick, who glared at him dangerously. In order to avoid Nick's glaze upon him, he began to chug his beer. Nick's glaze softened a little when he saw how a hard drinker Ellis was. He decided to answer my retort with his own, "That's right. My heart does flips when you call me 'Nicky'. It's so sweet."

I knew he was being sarcastic so I just ruffled his scruffy hair. Annoyed, he tried to straighten it with ice water. I said, "It's weird that this apocalypse doesn't lack Axe, but there's no hair gel in sight."

Sheila fell down laughing, thanks to watching the video. Ellis choked on his beer from laughing, Alex couldn't hold the camera straight and Ro was grinning, but biting the inside of her cheek to avoid laughing. He opened his beer and walked back to me, "My sense of humor must be rubbing off on you. You're becoming a comedian."

Alex spoke his mind, "Bow chicka bow wow!"

Nick spun around to Alex and flipped him off. I had to place my hand over my mouth to avoid bursting out in laughter. "In Alex's defense, that statement did sound dirty, Nick."

Nick cocked his eyebrow at me and asked, "You're defending the hick's little bro? What about me? Con artists remember?"

I casually placed my hand on his shoulder and replied coolly, "Nick, we are con artists, but this little zombie-slaying group is our family now. Hell, if I snapped at Sheila or Ro, you'd back them up in a heartbeat."

Ellis crushed the beer can in his hand with anger. Nick darted his eyes and replied, "Maybe. Hey Ellis, quit being so jealous."

He blushed as Sheila giggled a little. She grabbed his arm and said, "Don't worry about it, Ellis. Nick would never be interested in me. He's right; con artists."

He quickly snapped, "That's not what I meant!"

Everyone began laughing again, while Nick blushed. I decided to quickly get my digital camera and take a picture of Nick. The flash startled him, but surprise was quickly replaced by annoyance. "Great. More blackmail."

I laughed, "Don't worry, nick. I'm going to get everyone!" I walked over to Sheila and Ellis and said, "Get closer. Sheila was happy to oblige, which caused Ellis to blush. "Closer. I can't fit both of you in the frame." Sheila laughed as her body leaned against Ellis's torso, making him turn redder and redder. She decided that she was going to make him sweat, so she took his arms and wrapped them around her body. He began panting as his heart began accelerating.

She smiled at the camera and said, "Smile, Ellis." He grinned awkwardly as the camera went "click!" and stunned them with the flash. Nick began laughing and quipped to Ellis, "What's wrong, Overalls? You finally get the girl in your arms and you're too nervous to do anything."

Ellis snapped, "Shut up, Nick!"

Sheila let go of his arms, but Ellis didn't let go of her. I tried to hold in a snicker, but Sheila just glared at me. I shrugged, "Karma's a bitch. What can I say?"

She only flipped me off. I chuckled as I took a picture of Ro. She smiled as she leaned against the side of the stern. Alex was the next victim, so I looked at Sheila and gave her the 'disarm' signal. It looked like Soulja Boy and the Cotton Eye Joe dance moves. Heel-heel-toe-toe, then 'Superman!", and lastly lasso spin-around. She sighed as she wiggled out of Ellis's arms and snatched the camcorder away from Alex. "Hey! That's YouTube gold!" She ignored him and I snapped a photo of him.

I threatened, "If that video goes on YouTube, I'll just a montage of photos of you. I'm sure Ellis has access to some good ones." Ellis smirked as he nodded his head. Alex's face paled. "Do I make myself clear?" He nodded. "Good."

Coach staggered onto the stern and asked, "Does anyone know where the hell we are?" We all looked at each other and shrugged. Coach groaned, "It's ok. I'll go ask Virgil then. As y'all were."

Sheila quickly grabbed the camera away from me and said, "You and Nick. In a picture together. Now!"

Nick and I said in unison, "No way!"

Ellis snickered again. "These two belong together, Sheila! What do you think?"

She smirked, "Oh yeah. A match made in heaven!"

"We are not! Damn it! Quit doing that!"

Ro was deeply amused by our banter. "I concur with Sheila on this one. Definitely a match."

Nick and I growled, but Sheila and Ro wasn't fazed. Ellis quipped, "And to think, Chris was in such a cheery mood earlier."

"Thanks to the…" I quickly stopped myself short. I wonder if anyone could pick it up from there. I certainly hope not!

Sheila smirked, "You actually had a good dream last night? Holy fuck! That's a first in weeks! What was it about! Tell me, tell me!" She nearly leaped at me in determination. I backed up into Nick, who was also shocked by the fact that I didn't have one of my nightmares.

Sheila grinned as she instructed, "Nick, wrap your arms around her, like what Ellis did." I truly expected Nick to recoil from this request, but instead, he obeyed. I was the shocked one! He wrapped his arms around my torso, holding me close to his chest. I blushed a little, which made Sheila's grin grow bigger.

I thought to myself, "Oh fuck it. I love the guy." I followed his arms down and gripped his hands, so mine would have something to do. Ever had your arms flop down in a picture? It's not a pretty sight. Trust me. To be more comfortable, Nick took my hands into his and tried to even out his breathing. I guess he was nervous, but bold. Sheila smiled a real happy smile. She knew it; Nick's in love with me.

"Say 'zombies!"" she shouted as she looked through the camera.

We didn't bother, because we laughed instead, showing real, loose smiles. "Click" went the camera and the moment was done. Nick separated from me and opened his beer that was left on the cooler. I don't know why, but my hands began to feel numb. I began rubbing them, trying to get feeling back into them, but it didn't work. Before I got a chance to try something else, Sheila grabbed my arm and dragged me to the bow.

"Alright, girl. Spill about your dream." She was determinate as hell to know what was in my dream that made me so giddy.

I cleared my throat and asked, "Why do you want to know?"

She answered, "Because I'm your best friend. You're like a big sister to me. And I'm sure I'm like a little sister to you. I want you to be happy. I know I haven't been so helpful, especially when it comes to Nick. I'm sorry for acting like a bitch during this adventure. You're all I have now."

I smirked, "What about Ellis?"

She blushed, "I really, really, really like him. But he's more of a boyfriend than a brother. And why are you dodging my request? Tell me your dream."

I sighed, "Fine. The Hunter and I had a dragon fight. I defeated him easily, but the Hunter happened to be Nick and he said that he wanted me." Sheila gasped like a fan girl. "Nick used the Force to get me into his arms and he said 'I love you'. Then he kissed me." She grinned and began giggling. I blushed. "Shut up."

She stopped giggling and replied, "Sorry. But it's been awhile since you had a dream like that. Just admit that you have fallen for Nick."

"Hell no."

"Hell yes."

"Fuck no!"

"Fuck yes! Confess!"

"Fine! Yes! I have! Happy now?"

She grinned, "You have my blessing, Chris. You two will be happy together. I wish you the best of luck."

I cocked my head and chuckled, "You're acting like I accepted his marriage proposal! Nothing's happening right now. Let's survive the next few days before anything big happens, ok?"

She nodded, "Ok. Well, then. You should know that I love Ellis."

I scoffed, "I've known that since Day 1. I think everyone knows that by now."

She shrugged, "Well you know from the source. Come on let's go back to the others. I promise not to say a thing about your dream or about your love for Nick."

I smiled, "Thanks, Sheila. I need to keep this secret under wraps for a while."

We walked back to the stern and Virgil came out with Coach. Coach beamed, "There you guys are! We were waiting for you two."

Both of us were confused. Sheila asked, "Waiting to do what?"

Virgil happily responded, "To get a group photo!"

I countered, "When did we sail to Disney Land? Thousands of pictures. No thanks." Sadly, we didn't have much of a choice. Virgil took my camera and Coach dragged us into the cabin where everyone else was. Virgil took the picture while all of us squeezed in order to fit into the frame. I was practically in Nick's arms again, while Sheila kneeled on the floor with Ellis hovering close above. Lazerlemon was on top of Alex's head. Coach stood behind Alex and next to Ro. So in the bottom row would be Sheila, Ellis, and then Alex with Lazerlemon. In the top would be me, Nick, Ro and lastly Coach.

Virgil smiled and counted, "1…2…3…say 'Big Easy!'"

We all shouted "Big Easy" and the camera flashed, blinding us for a few seconds. The captain grinned as he gave the camera back to me. "Here you go! Treasure this time with each other."

I nodded, "We will, Virgil."

"Good. Now, who wants to go to New Orleans!" Everyone raised their hands in the air, because we want to get saved. We're sick of the fucking zombies! We want to be somewhere safe. No more blood. No more brains. No more killing. No more of this awful apocalypse.

The boat pulled over to a dock and stopped. Alex grabbed the gun bag and hopped out, following everyone off. "So, this is New Orleans, eh? It looks alright."

Virgil called through the P.A, "I ain't going much farther, but y'all can make it to the bridge from here!"

Ellis shouted back to him, "Good luck brother!"

He replied, "Good luck now. I'll see if I can help some other folks." The boat began to sail away, leaving us on the dock.

Coach announced, "We're almost home free people!"

Nick added his own two sense, "Well, seeing the bridge and getting to it are two different things."

Sheila replied, "I'm with Coach on this one. We're in the final stretch! We're almost there!"

I had to calm her down, "Relax, Sheila. Nick's also right. We have to get there first. So, let's quit yapping and start blasting!"

We pulled out our guns from Alex's gun bag and reloaded to a new fresh clip of ammo. I got my beloved AK and Magnum back and I was able to pick up a new guitar. Sheila got her sniper rifle back and her machete. Nick got his Assault rifle back as well. I think aside from Sheila and I, Nick would rather keep his current weapon than to swap it for another. Everyone else changes their guns from time to time.

Once we were ready, we stormed forward into the Big Easy as if we were soldiers. In a way, we were soldiers. Sure, our enemies don't shoot back and are single-minded maggot food, but this is war. Speaking of soldiers, military jets soared over our heads as we shoot the bullet fodder.

Coach beamed, "Alright! The military is still here!"

Nick groaned, "They don't evacuate people in fighter jets."

Alex barked, "Quit being so negative! We have come so far! Someone is bound to save us!"

We continued until we reached a store/safe room. Nick went over to the cash register and opened it up. I quickly intercepted him and took a hundred dollar bill in it. "Mine!" I shouted in victory.

"Hey!" Nick barked as he grabbed my arm, "No fair!"

I chuckled, "You gotta be quicker than that, Nicky!"

He growled as he pushed me into a wall. Ellis smirked over the sight. "Don't call me that. Give me the hundred."

I only smiled as I stuffed it into my bra, "You want it? I dare you to get it without getting smacked." Nick gulped and chuckled nervously. Sheila and Ellis collided into each other, laughing over our situation.

Sheila snorted, "Is that one of your con artist tricks, Chris?"

I shrugged, "Maybe. Like I've said: guys think with the heads between their legs, not with the heads on their shoulders."

Ro and Sheila giggled, because they knew it was true. However, that comment offended the guys. "Come on, Chris! Not all guys are sex-crazed bloodhounds", Coach snapped.

I countered, "But most of the guys I know are."

Nick challenged, "Oh yeah? Name three."

I smirked, "Alex, Ellis, and Nicolas."

Ro and Sheila burst out laughing, while the three boys either blushed or growled. Nick did both. "Not funny", he grumbled.

"I beg to differ, my con friend", Ro commented.

"Hey, Nick? Are you going to let me go or do have to do a certain task in order to advance?"

He scoffed as he let go of my arm, "This isn't a video game."

I brushed my arm off and quipped, "Who knows, Nicky?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned out loud. "You're never going to learn, are ya, sweetheart?"

"Thirteenth time, hot shot."

He muttered, "'Hot shot', huh? That's a new one."

Coach said, "Enough you two. Let's rest for an hour."

We all nodded as we went off to do our own thing. Ellis decided to talk to Sheila. Alex began to feed Lazerlemon with a zombie hand. Coach and Ro began talking about being rescued. I went up onto the roof of the store and looked over at the bridge. Nick was right. Getting to the bridge is different than seeing it. I sighed as I watched jets fly over the sky. "The military is bombing us. That's bullshit! We've come so far and when we're finally here, we're going to be bombed to bits."

"What'cha doing up here, sweetheart? Just hoping to get attacked by a Smoker?" a familiar voice quipped behind me.

I chuckled without looking back, "No, Nick. Fourteenth time."

He walked next to me holding a pair of binoculars. He looked over to the bridge and cursed at the distance. "How long do you think it'll take us to get to the bridge?"

I looked over to him and took the binoculars off of his hands. However, the neck strap was around Nick's neck, so when the binoculars went up to my eyes, Nick and I were cheek-to-cheek to each other. Not that I minded. I don't think Nick minded either. I answered, "Half a day. One full day most. We are quite the speedy bunch." I gave the binoculars to Nick.

"Good. One more day in this hell and we'll be home free!" he shouted with newly found enthusiasm.

I chuckled, "Who are you and what have you done with the real Nick?"

He smirked, "Oh funny, Chris. Even I have my moments."

I leaned against the edge and nodded, "You do. Not many, but yes. I can't deny that."

Nick asked, "Why were you up here?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, to be perfectly honest. I went up here and watched the jets fly by."

He scoffed, "I hope the jets go and they send in choppers."

I replied, "I agree with you. Jets leave, choppers come. Hey, Nick? What are you going to do after you get out of here?"

He pondered that question, because he never really thought about it. "I don't know. Go back to Vegas, I guess. Where's there's a roulette table and Texas Hold'em, you can find me there. What about you?"

I looked down at my worn out sneakers. "I'll go home."

He asked, "Where's home for you?"

"Back in Miami, Florida."

He nearly fell to his knees, "Are you crazy! That place is crawling with zombies, last time I heard. You survived one attack by yourself, but can you survive another?"

I scoffed, "I know I can! With my Magnum and AK with me, I'm a terror to zombies everywhere!"

He sighed, "Come on, Chris. Our one chance for salvation is in our grasp and when we get there, you want to dive back into this mess? I don't get it."

I walked up to him and jabbed my finger into his chest, "Miami is the only home I've got. I need to go back. My family still needs a proper burial. I will bury them, even if I have to do it alone."

Nick was about to say something, when we both heard another voice shouted, "I have an idea!" We turned around and saw Sheila grinning at her idea. Sadly, Nick and I feared the worst.

She leaped at me and suggested, "You can live with me! Boston is zombie free! After the burial, you can 'con' a plane ticket to Boston and you can be my roomy!"

Nick smirked, "That solves your problem right there."

I quipped, "I thought Ellis would be your roomy, Sheila."

She giggled at the mere thought of living with Ellis. "Well, since the South is pretty infested with the infected, he is going to have to live up in the big cities."

Nick chuckled, "Can you image? Ellis the country boy in a big city?"

I followed his tone, "That's unthinkable."

Sheila didn't find it so funny. "Come on, guys. He can adapt."

We rolled our eyes at the thought. He wouldn't last five minutes in New York City, especially with his accent. However, I did move from New York to Florida. That's why I didn't gain the Southern accent; at least not as thick as Ellis's.

I finally said, "Ok. I will live with you. But after my family's funeral."

She beamed and hugged me in joy, "Yay! But no conning my boyfriend."

Nick and I went speechless. Boyfriend? Ellis? No fucking way! I struggled to find my voice while I mumbled, "You and Ellis?"

She nodded with the biggest smile on her face. So she wasn't lying about him living with her. I did smile realizing how happy she looked. She and Ellis were opposites, but like the old saying goes: opposites attract. Nick decided to break the silence by saying, "When's the wedding?"

She flipped him off and I laughed. He just shook his head in amusement. I asked, "So, he confessed?"

She swayed her hand and answered, "Yes and no. He got so tongue-tied, that I guessed and he just embraced me. Then I confessed to him and he was so happy! The rest is history."

Ellis came running up the stairs. Nick quipped, "Speak of the Southern devil."

He eyed Nick for a second and then focused on Sheila, "Hey, baby. We should get movin'. And why are you hugging Chris?"

She let go of me and bounced into Ellis's arms. "Because when this mess is over, she's going to be moving in with us!"

I expected him to be pissed, but instead he beamed at me. "No way! Awesome! But I personally thought you would go with Nick."

Both of us blushed uncomfortably and I quickly snapped, "You would think that, Ellis!"

He raised his hands in innocence, "Sorry. I do know Foxwoods is near Boston."

Nick immediately looked up, "Foxwoods? I'm so there!"

We laughed on how easy it was to get aboard the nut boat: a redneck, a city girl, and two con artists. At least I have a plan now. Beat Nick at Foxwoods and stay with my best girlfriend in Boston. Sounds good to me.

Ellis broke the moment, "Come on, guys. Let's get movin'." We nodded as we followed Ellis back down into the safe room.

Coach saw us walking down and commented, "You guys are crazy, going up there in the open."

Nick countered, "I tried to get Chris, and then Sheila followed."

Coach looked at the con man with a smirk on his face, "Yeah right, Nick."

Nick growled defensively, but I grabbed his shoulder, "Enough of this. We have zombies to kill and quick. I estimated that it'll take us a whole day maximum to get to the bridge. If we keep moving and make smaller stops, we should be able to make it by nightfall."

Coach nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me."

Ro added, "Now that we have our game plan, we can survive this last stretch and get the hell out of there."

Alex took Lazerlemon off his head and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" We all nodded as we reloaded our weapons and grabbed supplies. Nick went back to the register and took everything in there…expect the hundred I "stole" from him. I'm surprised he didn't even try to get it, but he also knows that if I'm pushed too hard, I'm not afraid to shoot him. I giggled at the memory in the swamp. Nick looked at me with a raised eyebrow, so I quickly cleared my throat and held a stern face.

Once the door was opened, we ran out of there, filling the air with lead. Coach led us into a park covered in tall hedges. I shouted, "Stay together. We don't want to get…Spitter!" The Spitter spat an acid patch at us, immediately cutting our team into two groups: on the left were Alex, Nick, Ellis and Ro. On the right side, it was Coach, Sheila, Lazerlemon and I. We planned to just hold up until the acid faded, but a Jockey grabbed a hold of Coach, causing my group to chase him down. A Smoker snagged Alex, causing Nick's group to rescue him.

Once Coach was Jockey free, Sheila turned around and panicked, "Where's everyone else?"

I looked behind as well and gulped. "I have no clue. Don't worry; they'll be fine." Lazerlemon panicked and slipped into my jacket pocket for safety. I felt the little pup shaking inside.

"I'm not worried about them. I'm worried about us!"

Coach swallowed a few pills and asked, "What are you talking about, Sheila? We'll be alright."

A Charger thought otherwise. It bayed as it charged into us and knocked us over like bowling pins. It grabbed Sheila and began pounding her into a pulp with its huge arm. Coach was about to help her, but he got jumped by a Hunter. Two of my friends are getting hurt and I'm left with a choice. Fuck that.

I tossed a bile jar onto the Charger and knocked the Hunter off Coach. While the Charger got mauled by his own kind, it released Sheila and she quickly crawled away. The Hunter decided to pounce me, but I was ready for it. As it leaped with it's claws out-stretch to me, I used my guitar as a bat. I swung hard and it nailed the Hunter in the head, snapping it's neck and falling to the ground in a dead pile.

Sheila healed herself using her med kit and walked over to the dead carcass. I kneeled before the Hunter and harvested its tooth. "You ok, Sheila? You took a beating there." Coach asked.

She nodded, "I'm ok. Thanks, Coach. Chris that was quick thinking you did. Bile jar and a guitar combo. Still no zombie-kill of the week though."

I snapped my fingers and muttered, "Fuck. Oh well. Let's get out of this park and begin to find our missing comrades." Coach and Sheila nodded as we walked through the park, blasting zombies. We came across a statue of a horse, which Sheila loved.

"Even though I live in the city, I love riding horses. They're awesome!"

I quipped, "Ever ate one? They're awesome for your cholesterol!"

She looked at me and retorted, "You worry me sometimes, Chris. I think you should know that." Coach and I chuckled as we advanced. Once out of the park, Sheila began to worry. "Where are they?"

Coach shrugged, "Maybe they're waiting for us at the next safe room."

I doubted, "I don't they would, because two out of four of them would stop at nothing to find us."

Sheila replied, "That's very true."

All of a sudden, a flare popped into the air. It exploded in a fiery red color. All three of us ran back into the park and fought our way to where the flare was set off. We expected our friends to be there. Instead, we got a nasty surprise. It was the Hunter, who set off the flare gun and was waiting for us. I snarled, "You!"

He looked up and grinned evilly towards me. Coach and Sheila had their guns raised, but I growled, "Don't bother. This one's mine." Lazerlemon poked his head out and saw the older Hunter. He 'meeped' with curiosity as he leaped out of my pocket and stared at the adult. The older creature had no interest in Lazerlemon, so he snarled at the pup. He yelped in pain as he ran to Coach and leaped onto his shoulder.

Sheila asked, "Is that him?" I nodded without taking my eyes off the Hunter. She lowered her sniper and said to Coach, "Listen to her. She's got a score to settle with that Hunter."

He asked, "That's the Hunter that haunts her dreams? I thought he was dead!"

She replied, "So did I. Apparently not."

Coach shouted as a Boomer exploded next to him covering him and Lazerlemon in the bile, "Shit! We're going to have our hands full! I think Chris will be ok…for now." The horde came running towards the bile-caked survivors, leaving me alone.

I gripped the neck of the guitar so tight that the strings began cutting into the skin on my fingers. The Hunter growled challengingly at me, expecting me to attack him. I stubbornly shook my head, waiting for him to attack first. He shrugged his shoulders and pounced me. I rolled forward and he went soaring over my head. He stumbled on the landing and snarled at me.

I stood up and swung my guitar at his head. He ducked and grabbed the base with his claws, trying to pull it away from me. I'll admit, he was pretty strong even for a limber zombie. I struggled to get a firm grip on the neck as he pulled. I dug my heels into the dirt as I stood my ground, pulling with all my might. The Hunter cackled as he said, "Is that the best you can do? I expected more from you, Chris."

I snarled, "You haven't seen anything yet!"

He huffed, "We'll see about that." Using his claw, he slashed the guitar strings and they sliced into my hands. I hissed in pain as I let go of the guitar. I flailed my hands in pain as he pounced me to the ground. Thinking fast, I head-butted his head hard, causing him to hiss in pain as he leaped off my body. He growled as he rubbed his forehead, "I'll admit that I didn't see that one coming."

"Where did you get the fucking flare gun?" I snarled as my hands bled and my head began to throb.

He grinned, "I picked it up from the last band of survivors I attacked."

In rage, I tackled the Hunter, causing him to yelp in surprise. I pinned the creature down and hissed, "If you harmed my friends, I will shoot you now and never ask questions."

Suddenly, he clawed my arms and rolled over onto me, pushing my body into the blood-stained dirt. "It doesn't matter if I live or die! You will become one of us!" He used his left claw to force my head to the side, aiming to bite my neck. "Since you're immune to the infection from the air, I wonder how well you deal with it when you are bitten!" I gasped as his hot and smelly breath hit my neck and the side of my face.

"I won't give up so easily!" I screamed in my head. I quickly kneed him in the balls, causing him to wail fiercely. That wail of his could have wakened the dead! Or it could be a call for help. If that's the case, then I'm fucked!

I closed my eyes and braced myself. My attack didn't knock him off, so he's still ready to sink his infected teeth into my skin. All of a sudden, I felt his weight disappear, so I opened my eyes. I gasped as I saw Nick standing over me, firing his Assault rifle at the Hunter. The Hunter whimpered under fire and fell to the ground.

Nick strapped the rifle to his back and helped me up. "Are you ok, Chris? Did he bite you?"

I replied, "No. He didn't, but he was going to."

Nick noticed that my right hand was covered in blood. In panic, he asked, "What did he do to you!"

I looked down on my hand and flinched when Nick gently grabbed it. "He broke the strings on the guitar and they sliced my hand."

He quipped as he used his med kit on my hand, "I guess they invented leather biker gloves for a reason, eh?"

I chuckled as he wrapped my hand in gauze. "No kidding."

He tied a knot and let my hand hang. Then he looked up into the sky. "I doubt we'll make it in one round. Let's hope we don't have any other mishaps."

I nodded, "I agree. Where's everyone else?"

He pointed behind him and replied, "They're waiting for us back at the horse statue. Let's go." I followed him as he led me back to our friends. They were healing after that chaos. Lazerlemon looked up and 'meeped' with joy.

Sheila saw us approaching and called, "What happened?"

Nick replied, "Nothing I couldn't handle. Let's get to the nearest safe room."

Ellis added, "Let's hope we don't get separated again. I was terrified for Sheila's safety. And Nick, you were just as worried as I was for Chris."

Nick didn't bother retorting, so instead, he flipped him off. Ellis just shrugged it off. Ro barked, "Stop it, Nick. You know he is right."

I said, "We can all argue later, but right now we should keep moving." Lazerlemon hopped back into Alex's pocket as we began to move out.

Nick asked as we walked out of the park, "Don't you still collect Hunter teeth?"

I replied, "Yeah, but I didn't kill him. You did. I only harvest the teeth on the Hunters I kill." He nodded in understanding.

As we fought onto the streets and under the freeway, we ran into a trailer connected to a tower with an alarm. Things are never easy for us. Alex looked out the door window and complained, "That looks like a far run. Who are our fastest runners?"

Coach replied, "I expect Ellis, Sheila, and Ro to be our fastest runners."

Nick nodded, "I agree. You three run ahead, while we cover ya."

Ro said as she grabbed an adrenaline shot, "Ok, guys. Ellis, Sheila, you two grab a shot. We're going to need them." They nodded as they grabbed the 'quick energy in a sting'. Nick opened the door and Ro, Ellis and Sheila booked it out the trailer, activating the alarm. Coach, Nick, Alex, and I jogged behind them, blasting zombies in their way to the best of our ability. Ellis and Sheila treated this task like a race, leaving Ro in the dust. I chuckled at the sight. Lazerlemon thought it looked fun, so he hopped out of Alex's pocket and squeezed through the fence with ease and chased down his human friends. Alex chuckled as his pet had a good time running.

Ellis sprinted up the ladder and ran across the boards. Sadly, a Smoker was ready to snare him. As soon as he reached for the button, the long-tongued zombie grabbed him, pulling him towards the edge. "Oh shit!" he screamed. Sheila sniped that Smoker from the ground, but it was able to pull him down to the ground before it exploded in a cloud of green smoke. She was horrified to see Ellis take the fall.

"Ellis! No!" she screamed, running towards his body. Lazerlemon 'meeped' with horror as he hopped towards the elder Bucker and began sniffing his head. Ro was just as concerned for Ellis, but she had to turn off the alarm before we all get swarmed. She ran up the ladder, shooting every zombie in her way.

She pushed the button and shouted, "Alarm's off!"

That was our queue to go after them and to destroy all of the other zombies they missed. Sheila kneeled before Ellis and asked, "Are you ok, baby?"

He looked up and smiled, "I am now." She smiled at him while she helped him up to his feet. Thankfully, he had no broken bones, so he could still walk. "Thanks, Sheila. That was a nasty fall, but not as bad as Chris's fall off the Screamin' Oak."

I grumbled as we ran to the couple, "That hurt like hell, Ellis."

Nick whimpered, "I still feel bad for that."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, "Once again, it wasn't your fault. You shot the Smoker without a second thought and it all fell into place."

Alex quipped as he kneeled down to pick up Lazerlemon, "No pun intended on the 'fell'."

I growled at him, causing him to take a few steps back. "You fall off a coaster, then come talk to me. Come on, let's go."

We ran through a bus depot and found the safe room. We all sighed with relief, since the sun was going down. As soon as we bolted into the safe room and sealed the door, we all sat down on the floor and relaxed.

Coach turned to me and said, "So much for a half a day plan, Chris."

I snapped, "Hey. It would've worked if we didn't get separated. Now we need to bunker down for the night. No stops tomorrow, k?"

Ro asked, "What now?"

Alex asked, "What about another strip poker game?"

Sheila nodded as she pulled out her camera, "Oh hell yeah!"

I sprang to my feet, "Oh hell no!"

Ellis, "I'll agree to it as long as Chris 'unfixes' her deck. I refuse to lose that many times."

Nick smirked, "You're just full of bad luck, Overalls. Poker is a game of luck. Even a fixed deck can turn the tables on its owner. Trust me on that one."

I sighed, "Thank you, Nick. At least someone understands."

Coach replied, "That's because he's just like you!"

Nick shrugged, "Is that a bad thing, Coach?"

Sheila and Ro smirked at me, while I blushed. Coach cleared his throat and answered, "In some respects it is. But in others, it's not."

I added my two sense, "Let's not get into details. No strip poker game."

Everyone groaned. Sheila begged, "Please? You could die tomorrow!"

I scoffed, "You used that excuse last time. And look. I'm still alive!"

Nick said, "That's ok. You don't have to play." He pulled my deck out of his sleeve and flashed it in front of my face.

I gasped, "You sneaky, slimy conartist!"

He laughed, "That's right sweetheart! And I love it!"

I muttered under my breath, "Fifteenth time. You know what? Fine! Let's play another strip poker game. Once again, this tape does not go on YouTube or there'll be hell to pay."

Everyone cheered and we all sat in a circle. Ro didn't really want to play, so she held the video camera and enjoyed the game without the risks. Lazerlemon waddled into the middle of the circle and 'meeped' in amusement. She quipped, "I can't wait to see this."

I was losing this game…badly. I was in my bra and panties. I'm the loser, not Ellis. Nick did not stop grinning and blushing. He too was shirtless, but he wasn't losing as bad. Ellis was winning this game. He only had to remove his hat. Sheila had to remove her wind breaker and boots. Alex was shirtless again, but thank God he had his pants on. Coach just took off his outer shirt. Ro was laughing as I was losing big time.

I growled, "Oh shut up!"

Ro shook her head, "No. I won't. It's too funny."

I blushed as I hid my face behind my hand. "Not funny, guys. Karma hates me."

Sheila nodded, "That's what you get when you cheat, Chris."

I huffed, "I didn't cheat!"

She countered, "You cheated on the last game."

I hissed, "Why did I let you talk me into playing?"

She laughed, "Thank Nick for that, not me."

I turned my head towards Nick, who did his best not to stare at me. "Thank you, Nicolas."

He gritted his teeth at his full first name, but he didn't snap. "How are those witch scratches healing?" he asked.

I retorted, "I died from these scratches. You tell me."

He went wide-eyed, while Sheila and Ro muttered, "Oh shit!"

He grabbed my shoulders and began to shake me, "You died? You bled out? Why didn't you tell me?"

I replied, "I didn't know you'd be so…bent out about it. I was revived. Problem solved."

He growled, "You have no idea how much I…" he cut himself quickly before he finished the sentence.

I pulled out of his grip and snapped, "Let's drop it. It's all in the past now."

Nick cleared his throat as he mumbled, "Yeah."

The game was over when I lost one last time. I tossed my hand onto the floor and said, "Fuck. I'm out." Then I stood up and walked to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I gently unwrapped the gauze around my chest. The scratches still had the stitches in them and they hardly hurt, so I guess I'll leave them uncovered for a while. If they break open again, I'll wrap them up with more gauze. I put my bra back on and walked out. In my hand was the hundred dollar bill.

I walked to my pants and put it into my pocket. Nick was watching me from a corner. He noticed that I had my second tattoo on my left shoulder blade. It was a dragon. (I'll find a picture of it later. Promise!) He crawled over and looked at it better.

I growled, "What do you want, Nick?"

He was taken aback by my tone, "Nothing. I was just looking at your dragon tattoo. It's very cool."

I huffed, "Thanks."

He asked, "Why are you so snappy all of a sudden? Was it something I said?"

I sighed, "No. I can be a sore loser sometimes. That's all."

"Oh. That makes sense. Hey, didn't you say on the boat, that you loved Xavier Powers?"

I grabbed a hold of my shirt and snapped, "He's a hero to me. I never said I loved him."

He grinned, "I'm Xavier Powers."

I put my shirt back on and replied, "Bullshit."

He sighed, "It's true. I conjured that name so I wouldn't get caught as Nicolas Rowker."

I snorted, "Do you have proof?"

He pulled his wallet out and gave me an old picture. It was of three boys, all in their late-teen years. Two of them had black hair and the third one had his hair dyed blue. All three of them were wearing some sort of dress shirt.

Nick said, "These were my old buddies from high school. The blue-haired guy is Jackson. He loved dying his hair all kinds of colors because he hated his blonde hair."

I looked at Jackson and chuckled. "He's a blonde? I never would have guessed."

He continued, "The guy in the black leather jacket is Trevor. He was a good poker buddy. He would hate it when I beat him."

I pointed to the last guy, "And I take it, that's you."

He nodded, "Yeah. Look familiar?"

I stared at the younger Nick. He did look a lot like Xavier. The only reason I know what Xavier looked like is because I had a picture and the article framed in my apartment. He had the prettiest green eyes I've ever seen on a guy.

I smiled, "It's true. You are Xavier."

He smiled back, "In the flesh."

I asked, "So, how did you escape the casino?"

He replied, "I set the fire alarm off with my lighter and killed a security guard that looked a lot like me. I swapped clothes with him and dumped his body off the roof."

I gasped, "Holy shit! No way!"

He nodded, "Yeah way. It was tricky, but I made it."

I slipped my pants back on and said, "There was one thing I always wanted to do if I ever encountered Xavier."

Nick placed the picture back in his wallet and asked, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

I embraced him, which shocked him. "Give him a hug and tell him that he's my hero."

Nick chuckled as he embraced back. "I didn't know I could influence someone's life like that."

I pulled out of his arms and replied, "Yeah. I never thought so either. I was a hero to my little brother." I sighed in sorrow, remembering that day. Nick began rubbing my back for support.

He soothed, "I'm sure you did your best. And I'm sure he's watching over you along with the rest of your family."

I smiled, "Thanks, Nick." I kissed him on the cheek and grabbed my jacket. I crawled over to a corner and fell asleep.

Nick touched his cheek and went speechless. He smiled and blushed, hoping no one saw that moment. Coach saw it and so did Ro. Ellis and Sheila completely oblivious to the moment because they were too busy being together. Alex and Lazerlemon were already asleep.

Coach walked behind Nick and said, "Go to her."

Nick leaped out of his skin when Coach broke the silence. Coach laughed, "Sorry, Nick. I didn't mean to startle ya."

He asked, "What did you say?"

Coach repeated, "Sorry, Nick?"

He shook his head, "No. Before that."

"Oh! I said 'Go to her'. Don't bother denying it. You're in love with Chris."

He growled, "Maybe. None of your business, Coach."

The older man shrugged, "Whatever, Nick. Just remember, she's tripping over you too. I saw that kiss she gave you."

Nick paled, "You saw that?"

"Uh-huh. Ro did too."

He exhaled sharply through his teeth. "Oh shit. Well, glad it missed the camera. That's blackmail I don't need."

Coach hit Nick's shoulder and snapped, "Black mail? You love the girl. How's that blackmail?"

Nick growled, "Never mind. Forget I brought it up. I need to get some shut eye."

Coach slapped Nick's back and replied, "Alright Nick. Night."

"Night, Coach."

Coach walked away and curled up with a med kit. Nick rolled his eyes. Ro nodded towards Nick, who nodded back. She was asleep within seconds. Ellis and Sheila cuddled in their sleep, making Nick a tad jealous. He sighed and muttered to himself, "Oh fuck this. I love the girl." He waited in the dark for an hour before he felt tired himself. Plus, he wanted to be on the safe side.

He snuck over to my corner and lay down beside me. I began to sing softly in my sleep. The song was "Someone" by Nickleback. Nick smiled as he heard me sing. He hummed along as he scooched over closer to me. He used his jacket as a pillow and laid his head down. Unexpectedly, I rolled over and snuggled into his chest. Nick was shocked at first, but he grinned and whispered, "Night, Christina." I only muttered in response. He closed his eyes, wrapped his arm around my body, and let sleep overcome him.

_~ I was standing on the bow of a ship (Three guesses what ship it is!) while Nick approached from behind. "Hey, sweetheart."_

_I smiled as I let him pull me closer, "Hey, hot shot. How's it going?"_

_He whispered, "Great now that I'm with you."_

_I blushed as I melted in his arms. He began kissing my neck, when I heard someone else. "Not now, boy! I need to talk to your girl!"_

_Suddenly, Nick vanished, leaving me alone on the bow. I looked behind me and saw Bill walking up to me. I scowled, "What a mood-killer. Thanks Bill."_

_Bill scoffed, "Why are you dreaming about it while you can be in Nick's arms right now!"_

_I scratched my neck and snapped, "Because we're in a zombie apocalypse! That's why! Besides, why are you here? Shouldn't you be in heaven?"_

_He replied, "I'm an angel. I can appear to you in your dreams as well."_

_I huffed, "Nice. You couldn't appear in one of my Hunter nightmares? I was enjoying this one."_

_Bill lit up a cigarette and responded, "No. I let you have your kissing dream. You should be thanking me for that."_

_I sighed, "Fine. Thank you. Now, why are you here?"_

_He sighed sadly, "I fear your time is almost up. I looked into your future and saw that tomorrow that you will die!"_

_I took a step back, "Are you fucking serious?"_

_He snapped, "Hey! Watch your language, Christina!"_

_I groaned, "Sorry, Bill. Are you serious?"_

_He nodded, "As serious as my general in 'Nam. Now, there's no way to avoid it, so I think you should…"_

_I interrupted, "In the words of Yoda 'Always in motion the future is.' I won't die tomorrow. I'll survive and I'll make it to the bridge."_

_Bill sighed again, "Very well. I hope you do survive. And please, please kiss your boy tomorrow?"_

_I replied, "My boy? Oh Nick. I don't know. Maybe. Why?"_

_Bill placed a ghostly hand on my shoulder and said, "You have no idea how much he loves you."_

_I gasped, "He stopped himself from completing that same sentence! Is it true?"_

_He nodded, "Very true. And you love him too. Quit lying to yourself about it. Besides, I saw you kiss him on the cheek."_

_I blushed while Bill laughed. "It's not funny, Bill."_

_He snickered, "Yes it is. Anyway, I'll give you your dream back. Remember, I'm watching you like a hawk."_

_I rolled my eyes, "Nice to know that I'm being haunted by a NamVet."_

_He huffed, "Consider yourself lucky. I'll be gone. Bye, Christina."_

"_Call me Chris."_

_He nodded, "Very well, Chris. I hope not to see you among the clouds."_

_He disappeared in a mist, while Nick reappeared. "Are you ok, baby?"_

_I replied, "I'm fine, hot stuff. Just a little spooked. That's all."~_

I was the first to open my eyes. I felt my body being held down, so I looked down along my waist and saw a blue arm wrapped around my body. I looked behind me and saw Nick asleep beside me. I quickly looked up and realized everyone else was asleep. I sighed quietly and gently brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. He smiled in his sleep, making me melt a little. My heart was leaping like a kangaroo on steroids for Nick. However, no romance until we get out of this hellhole.

I gently pried his arm off my waist and I crawled away from his snoozing form. I stood up and stretched my aching limbs. Sleeping on a stone hard floor was never fun. Even a very thin blanket or rug would make the floor feel more comfortable. I shrugged as I looked outside the safe room door's window. It was dawn. I sighed and whispered, "Today's the day. It's 'do or die' today."

I paled when I remembered what Bill told me. I'm going to die today? That's bullshit. I'm in good health, strong, and determined to get out of here. I can swim if I fall off the bridge (If that even happens!). Plus, my friends will back me up if things go wrong. And I promise not to let my 'Hunter rage' get the better of me. Besides, that fucker's dead. Nick killed him. And just wait. In every slasher movie, when the killer dies and someone says, "He's dead!" or "It's over!", the killer appears anyway. We're in a horror movie. I knew that ever since I saw the zombies.

Sheila yawned as she stood up out of Ellis's arms. She saw me awake and walked behind me. "Are you ok? Another nightmare?"

I shook my head, "More like a Titanic montage with a flash of the future."

She asked, "What was the flash?"

I answered, "My guardian soldier told me I was going to die today."

Sheila scoffed, "That's bullshit! We will all make it to the bridge, get rescued, Ellis, Nick, you, and I move in together and raise Hell at night."

I stared at her and retorted, "You think way too much. But I will raise Hell. That's a promise."

She grinned, "With Nick?"

I growled softly, but then said, "Maybe. If he wants to. He's a roamer. I can't do anything to stop him. If he wants to go to Vegas, then he can go to Vegas! I can't stop a full grown, 35-year-old man from doing something. I'm not his mother."

She quipped, "No, but you do want to be his…"

"One more word and I'll have to explain to Ellis why you have a stomach full of lead. 'The safety was off. Sorry, buddy.'"

She giggled at the line. "Ok. I'll shut up. But still."

I replied, "You do know he may be asleep, but he can probably hear every word we're saying, right?"

She giggled, "So he heard your raising Hell with him comment?"

I blushed, "I sure hell hope not!"

She waved it off, "Whatever. Eventually, you two will confess, like what I did to Ellis."

I scoffed, "Maybe when this horror movie is over."

She gasped, "You know, for a horror movie, there isn't a lot of sexuality or nudity."

I laughed, "This isn't 'Scary Movie 2' or 'The Friday the 13th' remake, Sheila. This is like '28 Days Later' or 'Zombie land.'"

She replied, "I know but almost every horror movie has a titty shot or some nudity in it."

I giggled, "I don't know why, but the word 'titty' makes me giggle. It's too funny to me."

She giggled with me and nodded, "I agree with you on that one. It's a funny word."

Nick heard us giggling, so he groaned, "What are you two laughing it?"

I replied, "Nothing that concerns you, Nick. Did you have a nice sleep?"

He rubbed his eyes and looked up at me. He smirked, "It was alright. I wouldn't mind it again."

I laughed, "Don't count on it until we're out of this mess."

He nodded as he stood up and cracked his back. Sheila whispered in my ear, "What did he do?"

I whispered back, "He cuddled with me in his sleep."

She giggled as Nick cocked his head. "What now?"

I replied, "I just told her that I woke up with your arm around my waist."

He blushed and retorted, "Not my fault. It was a tad bit chilly last night, so my body went to the nearest source of heat."

Sheila replied slyly, "Right, Nick."

He growled slightly, and then he tripped over Alex's out-stretched leg. "Oh shit!" he shouted as he fell onto the floor.

His curse woke everyone up. Ellis sprang to his feet and walked to Sheila, who greeted him with open arms. "Mornin', my darlin'."

She replied sweetly, "Morning, hot shot."

I growled lowly, "You stole that."

Ellis looked up and grinned, "Confessed yet?'

I scoffed, "What? No!"

He shrugged, "Then that pet name isn't technically yours."

Coach stood up and announced, "Time to get moving. We want to get out of this war zone before noon."

Alex asked as Lazerlemon leaped onto his head, "Why so damn early?"

Ro answered, "You can stay here while we get rescued, Alex. Your choice."

He replied, "I get it. Forget I mentioned it."

Nick growled as I helped him up, "We already have. Ready for one last zombie run, Chris?"

I took a hold of my AK and grinned evilly, "Ready as I'll ever be!"

He chuckled as he picked up his Assault rifle. "Alright then. Let's hit it."

We opened the door and ran underneath the overpass, blasting zombies along the way. We trekked through the infected-filled streets without too much hassle, until we jumped over the truck and saw a Tank running straight at us. We split up, running from the monster. I reloaded and pelted that beast with every bullet I had in my AK chamber. Nick was the closest to it, doing his best to avoid it, despite the lack of space. The Tank swung his mighty arm and Nick went flying into a shrubbery.

"Nick!" I shouted. The Tank heard me and went after me. I growled as I swapped my AK out for my Magnum. I aimed for the head and fired. It hit him, but it wasn't enough to stop him. Alex decided to play hero and took his butterfly knife and stabbed the tank in the arm. He screamed and knocked Alex away. The knife bent to the side and snapped.

The only thing Alex had was the hilt in his hand. "Shit! Why my knife!" Lazerlemon loudly 'meeped' in agreement. However, the tank had no beef with Alex; he was still after me.

He charged at me and I was smart enough to actually run. Sheila and Ellis did their best to try to get the Tank off my tail, but it didn't seem to be working. "Holy shit! Tank on my tail!"

Nick looked up with leaves and branches in his hair. He saw that I was in trouble, so mustered every bit of strength he had, whispering, "I have not…come this far…to die now." He got out of the shrubbery and began shouting at the Tank, "You wanta piece of me! Come and get me!" The tank stopped chasing me and went after Nick instead.

I yelled, "Nick, are you fucking crazy!"

He quipped, "I've been hanging around you too long, sweetheart!"

Sheila laughed, "He's got you pegged."

I muttered, "Sixteenth time."

The tank ran at Nick, who held a flaming Molotov in his hands. He tossed it onto the hulking monster and rolled out of the way. He crouched as he watched the beast flail in dying pain as the fire toasted it. It finally fell to the ground, burning like an over done marshmallow.

I ran to Nick and helped brush him off of his shrubbery look. "That was daring and bold, Nick. What were you thinking?"

He rolled his eyes, "You're welcome."

I plucked the leaves and branches out of his hair and gave a small ruffle. He shook his head and muttered, "I wish I had some gel."

I shrugged, "Oh well. Come on. Let's get moving again. The military can't wait forever." He nodded and gave himself a shot to build up his strength again.

We continued on and sadly, we came across a sewer. It was our only option. Nick growled, "Sewers? Again? Fuck no!"

Ellis quipped, "Take for your bath Nick!"

I glared at the redneck, which quickly looked down. Even Lazerlemon didn't love the looks of the sewer. The fuses made the Hunter pup dizzy and he almost fell out of Alex's pocket. Alex took a deep breath and he leaped down the hole. He retched, "Oh God! It's awful down here! Come on, you guys!"

Coach shrugged, "Last one in is a rotten zombie!" He jumped in, which caused Alex to yelp in surprise.

"Shit, Coach. You scared me for a second."

He chuckled, "Sorry, young'un. I didn't mean to. Damn, it does stink down here. But this isn't my first time."

Ro followed closely behind and growled, "Great. There goes my boots…again."

Ellis said to Sheila, "I'll jump down first and I'll catch you when you come down."

She nodded, "Ok."

Ellis shouted, "Coming down! Make way!" Coach, Ro, and Alex quickly moved out of the way as Ellis hopped down into the sewer. Then he looked up and ushered Sheila to come down. "Come on, baby. I'll catch ya!"

Sheila hesitated, until I shoved her down. Ellis caught her anyway. Nick hit me and said, "That wasn't very nice."

I quipped, "You know what else isn't very nice?" My answer was pushing Nick down.

He yelled at me, "Bitch!"

I chuckled as I dropped down. "Sorry, buddy. I had to do it."

He mocked my voice, "I had to do it."

I rolled my eyes and shoved him forward to the end of the tunnel. We found a ladder and Nick was the first to climb up. Ellis and I fought off zombies while everyone else climbed up.

"Ellis! Go! I've got them!" I shouted over our fire and the zombie screams.

"You sure, Chris?" he shouted back.

I nodded, "Yeah! Go, go!"

He scaled up the ladder and tossed a pipe bomb away from the ladder. The remaining zombies went after it like a pack of dogs running after a bunch of cats. I bolted up the ladder and closed the lid. I looked up and saw everyone staring at an impound full of alarmed cars. Ellis whispered, "Holy shit. We're in trouble now."

I prayed, "Please, Bill. Give us a sign."

All of a sudden, a strong wind whipped a flyer in my face. I pulled it off and it read: "White is alright. Red will involve lead." I smiled, "Hey guys. Avoid the red cars. Jump on the white ones."

Alex snapped, "How would you know?"

I growled, "Just trust me, ok? I have a good feeling about this. Watch." I walked over to a white car and jumped onto the hood. Everyone froze with panic, thinking the alarm will go off and summon the horde. To their surprise, no alarm and no horde were present. I grinned as I grabbed a nearby machete. "Believe me, now, Alex?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

Lazerlemon hopped out of his pocket and 'meeped' to lead the way. He hopped onto the car I was on and hopped to the next white car. I shrugged, "Follow the hopping fluff ball."

Coach replied, "Ok, but everyone gets a melee weapon. No shooting the cars people."

Ellis replied, "Why would we want to shoot cars?"

Sheila answered, "Ellis, it's just a statement. Relax, ok?"

He nodded and allowed Sheila to go in front of him in this line of car hoppers. Lazerlemon safely navigated me to the other side. I crouched down and picked him up. "Good boy, Lazerlemon." He began purring. I looked back and saw Coach and Ro follow my path, followed closely by Nick and Alex. Ellis and Sheila were the farthest away from the end.

Coach and Ro jumped to the ground and walked to my side. "I'm no jumper, so let's not jump cars anymore, ok?" Ro whined.

Coach laughed, "I'm with you, little sister."

I chuckled, "Come on, guys. Jumping cars is fun. Especially when you have adrenaline rushing through your veins while running from the cops. Don't ask me how I know that."

Coach quipped, "You're so Nick's type."

Alex lost his balance and almost slipped into a red car. Coach, Ro, Lazerlemon and I watched in horror, but thankfully, Nick grabbed a hold of his shirt before he touched it. "Come on, Alex. Don't lose your footing now!" he snapped.

Alex sighed with relief as Nick pulled him back onto the white car they were standing on. "Thanks Nick. You saved my hide. I owe you."

Nick ignored him until they made it safely to the other side with us. "Don't mention it."

Ellis and Sheila were the speediest pair as they leaped across car to car. As they made it to the rest of the group, Sheila squealed excitedly, "You were right Chris! Jumping cars is soooo fun!"

I chuckled as we quickly climbed up the ladder and onto the freeway. We were so excited to finally be here, so we began shouting and jumping up and down like a bunch of crazed fans at a rock n' roll concert. Nick screamed, "That's it! We're really here! We're on the bridge! We're here! We're here!"

I howled like a wolf as I yelled, "Victory is ours!"

However, our joy turned to disappointment when a jet soared over us and bombed the bridge. Nick bellowed, "Oh come on!"

I screamed, "Noooooooooooooooo! You monsters!"

Coach yelled at us, "No need to panic!"

Nick snapped, "You sure we shouldn't just panic? I mean, I think panic was invented for just this sort of situation!"

Sheila hit me to snap me out of my panic state and yelled in my ear, "Chill the fuck out!"

I shook my head and popped my eardrums, "Thanks. I needed that. Coach is right. We shouldn't panic. Let's climb down and advance."

Ellis snapped, "Climb down into the hole that nearly destroyed us? Advance to where?"

I growled, "Don't make me hit you! Let's go down that graveyard."

We all looked down and gulped. A graveyard. Great, that's what we need right now. Seeing that there was no other option, we carefully scaled down the crater on the bridge and blasted our way into the graveyard. Nick finally calmed down and said, "They're bombing the place to cover a retreat. We better hurry if we have any chance of getting out of here."

Sheila replied, "Nick's right. I saw this maneuver on the Military Channel. Let's run through this graveyard."

I couldn't help myself. "I don't wanna be buried in a pet sematary. I don't want to live my life again!" Everyone looked at me funny, so I threw my arms in the air and asked, "What? It's a horror movie. One of my favorites, aside from 'Aliens' and the 'Friday the 13th' series." Everyone decided to drop it. I shrugged.

Our cautious jog through the cemetery became a rushing sprint to the next safe room. Running past all of these tombstones made us uneasy, but at least these people didn't endure the hell we are dealing with right now. The zombies were coming at us at all directions, forcing us to slow down and actually shoot a few waves. Sheila and Coach lead the way out of the cemetery while we tailed behind them, filling the flesh-eaters with lead. Nick found a chainsaw and grinned evilly. Sheila and Coach need help, so Nick pulled the rip cord and charged towards the zombies. He yelled over the massacre, "Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh! Die! Die!" His chainsaw ripped through the horde like a pair of scissors against paper. Blood splattered everywhere, but mostly on his suit. He didn't stop until every zombie within eyesight was dismembered and bleeding from more than two places.

I pulled him into the safe room and closed the door. I had to pry the chainsaw out of his hands and whistled, "Damn, Nick. I'm glad you're not a serial killer or we're all in trouble."

The vibrations from the chainsaw make Nick's hands and arms shaky. "Yeah. No kidding."

I quipped, "I think there's a working hose out there, so we can give your suit a good hose-down."

He looked down at his bloody suit. "Much obliged, Chris."

I opened the door and asked Sheila, "Cover us?"

She smiled, "Sure. Go ahead."

Nick and I snuck outside the safe room and I turned the hose on. I picked up the hose and commanded to Nick, "Brace yourself."

He nodded as he spread his arms open and closed his eyes. I squeezed the nuzzle and icy cold water came out, soaking Nick. He yelped, "That's freezing! Jesus!"

I laughed, "Sorry, Nick. I can't control the temperature." He began shivering, but I kept on spraying him until his suit was shiny and new, as if he bought it yesterday. I finally turned the water off and laughed as Nick dripped of water. He was soaked. He was Hard Rain soaked. He's 'Kali River Rapids' soaked.

He playfully flipped me off as he shook the excess water out of his hair. "Laugh it up, bitch." He took his jacket and rung it out. He didn't bother ringing out his under shirt, because I was standing right there watching him.

I replied, "At least your suit is officially white again."

He nodded, "That's true. Like I said: brains come out."

I quipped, "Apparently, so does swamp water."

He laughed as he ushered me back into the safe room. I reloaded my AK while Ellis couldn't stop saying how white Nick's suit looks. Sheila laughed at her boyfriend. Coach grabbed an SPAS shotgun and ushered us out into the battle again.

We ran through a jazz club and ran into a parade float being pulled by a tractor. Nick couldn't help himself. "Look, Ellis! A tractor."

I was about to hit him, but Alex beat me to it. However, Nick glared at him with his emerald eyes and Alex quickly regretted hitting him. Lazerlemon 'meeped' in fear for his "master's" safety. To break up the tension, I pulled the lever and shouted, "Here they come!"

The horde swarmed us, so Ro used a pipe bomb to thin the waves out a little more. She quipped to me, "Where's the nearest chainsaw? Nick needs to go crazy on them again!"

I laughed as I sprayed my AK at anything that moved in my sight, "I don't think he can go all Leatherface on them again. Maybe if he picks up a machete, then he can go…"

Ro finished, "…Jason? Damn, he's the man!"

I beamed, "Hell yeah, he is!"

Coach barked, "Again with the boy talk, ladies? Keep firing!"

We shut up and began firing again. Once the tractor stopped moving, Alex cried over the fight, "Let's go! It's here!"

We followed his lead and ran across the float's board and into another house. "Jeez. If I had a dollar for every building we went through, then I wouldn't need to swipe that hundred dollar bill out of the register", I groaned.

Nick groaned with me, "I know. Come on. We're almost there."

Damn, he was right. After navigating through the streets and a few more homes, we saw the safe room…it's the bridge! We sprinted for it, but a Hunter seized this opportunity and pounced Ro. "Hunter on Ro!" Coach yelled while Alex, Ellis, Nick, Lazerlemon and Sheila ran into the safe room. I bolted towards the creature and tackled him off her. Coach helped Ro up while I took care of the Hunter. I stabbed it in the heart with my machete that I grabbed in the impound. It gurgled on its blood and I kicked it off my weapon. Its body fell dead and I quickly harvested his tooth.

I looked at it and smiled, "This might be my last Hunter tooth I'll ever harvest." I ran into the safe room and Sheila closed the door. I looked over at Ro and she wasn't in bad shape. The Hunter gave her about one and a half swipes of his claws before I tackled it. "Are you ok, Ro?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Thanks, Chris."

I grinned as I sat down on one of the oil drums. I took the two teeth (one from Coach's Hunter and one from Ro's Hunter) and began to add them to my collection. As I untied my necklace, it got caught with Nick's emblem. I did my best to avoid damaging both of them, which I was successful. After twisting the holes in the roots and slipping them through the thread, I stared at my collection. I grinned with pride as I shook them, causing them to chatter against each other. Once we're rescued, I'll put this collection somewhere safe for all eternity. My Hunter hunter days are officially over.

I tied the necklace back around my neck and climbed up the ladder, not expecting the events that will unfold in our final zombie showdown.


	9. Chapter 9

_**When Love and Hate Collide**_

_**Chapter 9: Nick's Heart Will Go On**_

Nick was waiting for me as he watched me scale up the ladder. He smiled and asked, "Are you ready for the run home?"

I nodded, "Oh hell yeah. What about you?"

He replied, "You know it. Before we do, I just want to say something."

I gulped and asked, "Sure. What is it?"

He answered, "I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you during this Hell-bound fight. You didn't deserve it."

I placed my hand on his shoulder and said, "Thanks, Nick. I'm sorry too for adding fuel to the flame. You're a nice guy when you want to be. I consider myself lucky for finding a fellow con artist who is just as think-headed and trigger-happy as I am."

He sighed, "I'm so glad I got swept into this apocalypse. It led me to you."

I blushed and quipped, "Stealing more 'Titanic' lines, my friend?"

He chuckled, "You know it! It's true, though. I'm glad this happened to me. At first, it was just me, Ellis, Ro, and Coach. I kept thinking, 'Oh dear God. Why me? Why these people?' And then you and Sheila came along and I'll admit I was a total jackass but it was to hide my excitement for finding someone I can relate to. Thanks."

I smiled, "You're welcome. I'll admit, we had our fights, but all in all, I had a fun time fighting beside you. And once again, I'm sorry for shooting you in the ass."

He nodded, "Apology accepted. I can't wait to get the hell out of here."

I laughed, "That sentence killed the mood, Nick."

He smirked as he tried to straighten his scruffy hair. "And what mood was it, Chris?"

I blushed, "Don't act like you're completely oblivious to it."

He walked closer to me, "No. Seriously."

I backed into the wall while Nick leaned against it using his right arm to prompt him. "Damn, you're quite the smooth criminal, Nick."

He smirked and winked, "You love that about me. Don't deny it."

I blushed harder and replied, "Alright, I won't. But you love the way I can make men like you sweat with minimum effort."

He whistled, "I'll admit, that skill is hot. The trick you used on me on the boat. Damn. I guess it pays to be a female con artist."

I nodded, "It sure does."

He slowly closed the gap between us and I immediately darted my eyes left and right. No one seemed to pay attention to us, so I relaxed a little. Nick softly placed his forehead against mine and began, "Christina, I…"

Coach interrupted, "Let's go! The military won't wait forever!"

Ro grabbed a hold of Nick's collar and quipped, "Not now, Romeo. We have a bridge to clear."

Nick blushed as Ro pulled him away from me. I laughed as I reloaded my AK and grabbed ammo for it. Lazerlemon hopped onto Nick's hand and purred. He scowled at the fur ball and waved him off his hand. He huffed and hopped up my leg and onto my Magnum holster. He began purring again. I chuckled as I picked him off the holster and onto my shoulder. Sheila walked by and asked, "How come when I call you 'Christina' I get a threat, but when Nick calls you 'Christina' you get a cheesy grin on your face?"

I covered my mouth with my hand and shrugged. "I don't know."

Sheila smirked, "My ass. I love trying to make you confess."

I snapped, "I confessed to you once!"

"Yeah, but not to Nick. Just admit that you're madly in love with him and raise Hell together."

I sighed, "Tell you what, Sheila. I'll confess when we're rescued."

She added, "On the helicopter."

I nodded, "Fine. On the helicopter."

She held out her pinkie and declared, "Pinkie promise me."

I sighed and linked my pinkie to hers, "I promise."

She smiled and petted my shoulder not occupied by Lazerlemon. "Awesome. Come on. Let's have one more zombie run before we retire."

I grinned, "Sounds fun to me."

Alex opened the door and we all walked out onto the bridge. Coach said, "Alright, the military is going to save us."

Nick doubted, "Or they're going to line us against a wall and shoot us."

Ellis replied, "Not likely Nick."

Nick mocked him, "'Not likely Nick.' Just watch, I have a hunch one of us might die."

My face suddenly paled. Sadly, Nick saw me in the corner of his eye and grumbled to himself, "Shit. Me and my big mouth." He immediately took my side and joked, "I'm kidding sweetheart. No one's going to die."

I shook my head and exhaled, "Yeah. Right. I just let panic overwhelm me for a second. Sorry for worrying ya." He smiled and walked away. Thank Bill, he didn't read my poker face. I was lying and if he studied me, he would've seen that I was lying to him. "By the way, seventeenth time." He laughed as a result.

Sheila picked up a walkie-talkie off a dead soldier and asked, "Hello? Anyone there?"

A voice boomed on the other side, "It's coming from the bridge! Identify yourself!"

Sheila continued, "I'm Sheila. There are six survivors with me."

The voice asked, "Bridge, are you immune?"

She replied, "Huh? No, we're not zombies!"

"Negative. Are you IMMUNE! Have you encountered the infected?"

She scoffed, "We had to fight the infected in order to make it this far! Of course we have!"

The voice replied, "Papa Gator, are you with transports?"

Another voice answered, "Copy that."

The main voice commanded Sheila, "Bridge, there's a transport on the east bank of the bridge. It'll be leaving in ten minutes. We are clear of friendlies. Good luck." Static was the last thing heard through the talkie.

Coach activated the bridge and Nick declared, "Alright, you heard the man. Let's get across this bridge."

The section we were standing on began to rise. We stood in front of the ramp, waiting for it to lower. I quietly prayed to myself, "Bill, help us."

The section stopped and the ramp crashed down. We bolted to the left side and ran almost single file again. We attacked very zombie in our way, either with bullets or with something sharp and pointy like a machete. We saw Special Infected, but for some odd reason, they didn't attack us. They just watched us run to the chopper while the common zombies attacked us.

We decided to dodge the Tank altogether and climbed up the tanker onto the upper part of the bridge. It was slanting on the right side, so we had to stay to the left as much as possible. Alex almost fell off, but thankfully Coach saw him flailing and grabbed his collar. "Don't fall on us, young'un."

Alex sighed with relief, "Thanks, Coach."

Soon enough, we saw the chopper waiting for us. We beamed at the sight; we're going to make it out of here! We zipped past the zombies and onto the chopper pad. Sadly, Faith had other plans for us. While Alex, Sheila and Ro piled inside the chopper, the common zombies decided that they liked the chopper too much to see it take off. They attacked it, causing the pilot to yell, "I can't take off with these things attacking us!"

I growled as I ran out of the chopper to fight off the zombies attacking the chopper. Nick panicked and followed me out. I ran around, filling the flesh-eaters with AK ammo. The zombies saw me outside so they went after me. I hissed, "Bring it on, you fuckers!"

Nick's Assault rifle rang in my ears as he ran to me, "Are you fucking mad? Get to the chopper!"

I shouted, "Not until you guys are safe! I need to destroy these sons'a'bitches so it the damn chopper can take off!"

He hissed, "I'm not leaving without you!" He reached to grab my arm, but suddenly, I aimed my Magnum at his chest. He froze as he stared at me with glossy eyes.

"I'm sorry, Nick. Go, while you still have a chance! Go without me!"

He shook his head, yelling, "I can't! I refuse to!"

I cocked the hammer at him, threatening to shoot him if he didn't leave. A single tear rolled down his cheek. I quickly saw more zombies running behind Nick, so I quickly shot past his shoulder and nailed one in the head. Nick took this chance to throw a pipe bomb. The group of zombies went after it, eager to chase the blinking, beeping thing.

He began pleading, "Please, Chris! Get into the chopper! Be with me! I can't live without you!"

I bellowed over the copter blades, "Yes, you can! I'm sorry, but this is my final stand! These zombies can't fight themselves! I gotta do it! Go, Nick, go!"

Nick ran up to me and before I could shoot him, he crashed his lips onto mine. The kiss was the most peaceful thing I've witnessed in years. It only lasted about five seconds, but I could die happy now. I aimed my Magnum back at him and sobbed, "Just go, Nick!"

He began sobbing as well, but he heeded my words this time. I followed him to the back of the copter and attacked the zombies that almost got aboard. Ellis pulled Nick inside and everyone looked in horror as the copter began to hover off the ground. Lazerlemon hopped out of Alex's pocket and made the leap of faith onto my shoulder. I watched the helicopter fly my friends to safety and I was blown down by the bombs released onto the bridge, destroying it completely.

_**Meanwhile, in the chopper… **_

The explosions outside the chopper window made Nick's heart sink. He leaned into one of them and softly sobbed to himself. Sheila cuddled into Ellis's arms, crying frantically at my sacrifice. He rubbed her back and held her tight, while he shed a tear or two as well. Coach bent his head down and cried, "Why, Chris, why?" Ro and Alex sobbed as one. Everyone was crying over my actions, but no one was hurting as bad as Nick. He pulled my blue bandana out of his coat pocket and began to sob loudly as he placed the bandana close to his lips. He lost the woman he loved.

_**After the explosion…**_

I groaned as I stood up. Lazerlemon shook himself off and went 'meep?' I looked up and stared in horror at the common infected, running towards me. I hissed as I grabbed my AK, "Come and get me, you assholes!" Bullets tore through the waves like butter, but despite my firing, more zombies kept coming. I reloaded frantically and continued to fight back, while struggling to face the facts: I am going to die.

After my AK ran out of ammo, I tossed it aside and began panting. Death was upon me and I knew that. The Special Infected that didn't attack us surrounded me in a deadly ring. A Smoker, a Charger, a Jockey, a Spitter, a Boomer, a Tank, and a young Hunter stared intensely at me. My nerves were on edgy, waiting for the super zombies to attack me. Lazerlemon cowered in fear behind my leg, but he came face-to-face with the Jockey, which scared the little fur ball senseless. He leaped into my jacket pocket for protection. I patted his pocket as I took a deep breath.

The common infected split like the Red Sea and I gasped to see the Hunter walking down the empty aisle. My breathing got heavy as I saw him crouch. He leaped over the younger Hunter and pinned my body to the ground. He hissed, "Where's your team now, Chris?"

I snarled, "They're safe! Away from this Hell hole! Go ahead! Kill me! My duty is done!"

He chuckled, "Kill you? No. We've got better plans for you." He pressed the side of my face into the ground and sank his teeth into the flesh of my neck. I screamed in agony as his bite spread throughout my whole body. My muscles grew weak and my vision blurry. I struggled to remain conscious but it was no use; I closed my eyes and waited. Waited for Fate to come knocking on my door. I don't care what happens to me; my friends are safe. My purpose has been served.

_**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 or any of its characters. Chris and Sheila are my OCs, while Alex is my little brother's. I don't own the Hunter pup species, but my little brother does own Lazerlemon as a character. L4D belongs to Valve and Hunter pups belong to perpetualfrustration from Deviant art. There is no such thing as solar-powered IPods…yet. I hope you loved reading this story.

Look out for a series called "Slashed Scenes/Moments" to see situations that didn't make the story. Part 1 can be found on Quizilla and part 2 can be found on Deviant art (rated M for sexuality). More coming soon!


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